Summoner Keyblader
by WillowWitch
Summary: The story of Kingdom Hearts has ended, but at the cost of Sora and his friend's lives. When King Mickey sends them all to a new future, will Sora be able to fight the darkess with his friends at his side once again? SAILOR MOON REMAKE! YAOI INCLUDED!
1. Prologue

WillowWitch: I suggest listening to the sad version of 'Moonlight Densetsu' for the piano on a youtube video while reading the beginning. It adds to the mood.

* * *

**Prologue:**

Long ago, in a time where the worlds were all separated from each other, there had been a kingdom that had been watched over by a mouse. However, not just any mouse. This was the king of the universe that helped run and take care of the worlds that populated it. This world, however, that the kingdom resided in, was the world that was known as the Disney Castle.

And its ruler was King Mickey.

He was the strongest holder of the keyblade, a powerful weapon that held the fate of all worlds. With the power to keep the worlds safe, King Mickey did his very best to do what needed to be done to keep things in order. With loyal friends and comrades, the peace had been eternal amongst the wide universe…

…Until the day… That Heartless were born…

The King was forced to leave his kingdom to fight the forces of the Heartless, and stop the evil intentions of those that controlled them. Unfortunately, one keyblade alone, wasn't enough to stop the endless army of darkness that was slowly approaching… In the midst of it all, one boy, was given the fated encounter of wielding a keyblade of his own, and set forth on his own adventure to fight the Heartless.

The journey was long, harsh, and merciless. The loss of his friends affected him greatly, and many strange mysteries surrounded the answers he was looking for. With the keyblade in his possession, he continued to fight, with the strength of his heart guiding him through the continuous trail of obstacles…

Meeting new friends, finding old ones, and holding the memories of them close, our hero was able to defeat the darkness, and continued to search for his friends as he did so. Due to his fate as the keybearer, however, the quest never got any easier to accomplish, nor to figure out. Not only were the fates of his friends connected to his own, but others in his past that he did not even know of…

In search to place everything back to where it all had once been, the boy had to go back on one more journey. This time, however, accompanied by the King, and the one he held dearly… On his journey, he had met those who were once enemies, converting them to the side of good and becoming great friends. They all aided his journey, uniting for the final battle, as one evil aura who hadn't disappeared held them back from ending the story once and for all.

The keyblade was only so powerful when alone, but with the help of his new and old friends, and that whom he loved, they were all able to defeat the evil, and send it to a deep sleep…

… But this had come at a very costly price…

Since the very day he'd been given the keyblade, the darkness slowly but surely grew stronger. It had all been too much for he and his friends to take care of on their own… In the event that they had defeated the darkness, the power and strength it took to use what they had eventually lead to their deaths…

And this is where our King comes in…

Due to a different fate deciding battle occupying him, King Mickey hadn't been able to assist in the clash that had taken place. Arriving to witness the horrors that it left behind, and the tragic ending, he had made his fateful decision. Searching through the wreckage and lifeless bodies that littered the grounds, he was able to find one who was barely alive.

"Y-Your… majesty…"

"Shh… Don't speak, Donald… Just listen…" Mickey says, gently, kneeling to Donald's level, as the duck was almost dead. "I've come to a decision. That, of which, I will need your assistance with later…"

"Y-Your maj… esty… I… am sorry… I can… no longer… assist… you… I'm not… too far from leaving… this… world…" replied the duck as he looked into the eyes of his king regrettably.

"Then… I-I'll… do… it…"

The two then looked next to them, to see a tall figure with long black ears and a shield. He was on the ground, not too far away from them, and had looked just as bad as Donald. Mickey cringed at the sight of their condition, but continued.

"You'll both do it… Together…" said King Mickey, frowning at the look on Donald's face. "Do not worry, my friend… You're not going to die"

With that said, the King summoned his keyblade. His two followers stared up at him with curiosity, not sure of what he was planning to do. He sighed, looking up at the sky, continuing to speak gently to his comrades.

"I will bring everyone back… This story will not end tragically…" the King said, a few tears streaming down his cheeks. The two on the ground widened their eyes as much as they could.

"No… Please… King… Mickey, p-please don't…!! If you do that…!" Donald rasped.

"It's for the future of the kingdom, the worlds, and the universe, Donald…" he replied solemnly. "I'm sorry… Please… When you come back, you'll have all your memories… Both of you"

The two were reluctant, trying hard not to look at each other, but nodded slowly. They knew what the King was about to do, and they couldn't stop the tears flowing down from their cheeks as well…

"If ever the darkness should return to the future that I'm about to give you all… And it will… Please, find the keyblade warrior again… And his friends…" the King begged, pointing the golden keyblade towards the sky that was tainted red with the destruction that had been the end of the worlds around him…

They nodded again.

"Their lives will be different. They will all be given normal lives… That as if the darkness, and Ansem's study never took place… I will give them the strength that they each gained when fighting alongside each other today… Should the darkness return, they will be able to stop it"

The keyblade grew bright, and it continued, until the ground began to shake around them.

"… With the power that I bestow upon all of you… Please be safe…" he said, with the keyblade shooting a harsh light that shot towards the red sky, breaking through the blood red clouds and leaving an opening for that of a giant red bird to fly though. The King fell to the ground, next to his followers, weak from the energy it took to commence the strength he needed…

"… Phoenix… Hear my prayer…" the King begged, weakly. "... Save everyone… Give them… The future I promised…"

"Mickey…!" Donald rasped, trying to pull himself towards the king.

"… Donald… Goofy… Please… Guide them… Through whatever… happens…" he said, as Phoenix began levitating all the lifeless bodies towards the bright light in the sky. Donald's and Goofy's were then being lifted as well.

"Sire…!" Goofy said, reaching his hand out to Mickey.

"… Watch… over… them…" King Mickey said, watching them float higher and higher, his face being splashed on with their tears. Before he could watch them all finally reach the light of Phoenix, he whispered his last dying wish…

"… Take care… _Sora_…"

* * *

"Sora! SORA!!"

Suddenly, without any warning, a boy with messy brown hair was whacked in the face with a pillow, knocking him out of bed with a surprised and painful yelp. Hitting the wooden floor of his room, he looked up to see a girl with brown hair and green eyes standing next to him. He glared at her.

"Selphie…!!" he growled angrily, reaching out to grab her ankles, but she jumped back, whipping his hands with a jump rope. He shouted at the pain. "HEY!! What do you think you're doing!?"

"Getting you up, dear brother!!" she replied. "You're gonna be late again!"

With that said, she pointed to the clock that was right next to his bed, and as Sora looked at it he nearly fainted. It was 7:55 am. He bolted off the ground and charged into his closet to get dressed, as Selphie rolled her eyes and walked out of his room.

"Good thing my school's right around the corner" she muttered.

"Well ex-CUSE me for not going to an ALL GIRLS SCHOOL!!" Sora retorted as he pulled his shirt on. Immediately, he grabbed his pants, bag, and brush to run downstairs with. He slid his pants on as he hopped down the stairs passed Selphie, who cringed at the embarrassing sight.

"Sora?" his mom asked, who had been sitting on the table with their father. "Your lunch is on the table"

Normally, parents would be rushing their children to get them to school. However, with Sora, things were a different story. It was more rushing him to school when there was the possibility that he'd be early. After years of him showing up to school late, both his parents just gave up and let things happen. They barely noticed Sora hop in until he slipped on the tile floor in his socks and fell face forward into the ground. He groaned, while Selphie tried hard to contain her laughter. Their mother groaned.

"Now, really!" his mother said, sighing at the boy's dazed look.

"Now, honey, take it easy" said their father, who had been reading the newspaper.

"I gotta wonder, who exactly does this boy take after?" she asked, giggling at the sight of Sora getting up, mistaking a bag of salt for his lunch, and running out the door.

"Not me. That's for sure. Though those dashing good looks were probably my fault" he replied, turning the page.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a dark world where a white broken down castle resided, an evil figure floated through the halls. A heart shaped moon was shining brightly outside, and the world below it was eerie and dark. The figure chuckled evilly as it approached a door. His cowboy hat hiding his intentions as he held a sniper gun over his shoulder. A dark emblem was visible on his hat, and it looked like a heart with stitches.

"Your majesty, I am here"

And a soft, malicious voice replied.

"Good… Irvine, you do realize our mission, yes…?"

"Yes, my queen" Irvine replied. The queen smirked as the door opened to reveal her tall and ghostly figure.

"Very good. The reign of the Heartless shall return under my command, and by stealing hearts, we will once again have control of the universe!!" she gloated, cackling loudly as Irvine smirked.

"And the keybearer?" he asked.

"Do not fret about him. He has not shown his face, yet, then he might as well not exist" said the tall figure.

"And what of the… other problem?" Irvine asked. The Queen frowned.

"HE'LL have to be taken care of by someone else for now… Rikku!" the Queen shrieked.

At the call, a thin blonde girl appeared from a dark portal in the ground. Her hair was tied in a messy ponytail and her clothes were revealing. The dark stitched heart emblem appeared on her left shoulder and she giggled girlishly.

"Yes, my queen?" she asked gracefully.

"While Irvine is working here in Tokyo, I'd like for you to check out the other problem that's been occurring with our Heartless in Kyoto" the queen ordered.

"Your wish is my command, my queen" Rikku said, seeping back into the ground again.

"Once all these interruptions are taken care of, the Heartless will roam free among this future world and steal every heart there is to offer... The universe will once again be ours in no time…" the Queen whispered. Irvine bowed to his queen.

"All hail…" started Irvine.

"… _Queen Maleficent_…"

* * *

"Dang it! Why couldn't Selphie wake me up earlier!?" Sora shouted as he ran to school.

As he ran, he noticed that there were a group of kids chasing something coming his way. It looked almost like… … A duck? And it was squawking fearfully. At least, that's what it looked like in Sora's eyes. The poor thing was getting harassed by a couple of bullies. They were in elementary school, so they looked. Sora could take them on.

"Hey! Leave that duck alone!!" he shouted. The kids took one look at him- Busted. They ran the second Sora started running towards them. "How horrible!"

The duck looked pretty worn out and beaten up. It made Sora a little sad to see such an innocent creature in such pain. He reached down and scooped up the little guy, looking to see that there was something choking it. A collar on a duck? No… It was a necklace! With… an emblem? What was this weird circular shape? The duck squawked again, and Sora noticed that there was a beaten up blue hat next to his feet. Picking it up, he noticed that it was too small to fit his own head.

The duck squawked again, and Sora noticed that it was looking at the hat in his hands.

"What?" he asked. "Oh, is this yours?"

The duck continued squawking. At that, Sora just shrugged and placed it on the tiny duck's head, his arm brushing against the circular emblem on the duck's neck. It jolted suddenly, and Sora dropped the duck in surprise.

"Agh!!" he shouted, as the duck fell to the ground, and jumped away from Sora. They stared each other down for quite some time, confused and curious. "What was…?"

However, before Sora could say anything, the sounds of a bell had rung through the streets, and he gasped, looking at his watch.

"I'M LATE AGAIN!!!"

Without acknowledging the duck any further, he sped towards his school. However, what he had not noticed was that the strange duck was staring after him intensely. The emblem around his neck had once again jolted, and he then grew a serious look on his face.

"… He must be the one…"


	2. Summoner Keyblader Appears!

**Summoner Keyblader Appears!**

"Aww, man… Why does school have to start so early in the morning?" Sora groaned as he stood outside his classroom.

His teacher wasn't very tolerant towards tardy students, which he had gotten quite used to during the past two years. The bell was about to ring for recess, but unfortunately Sora was forced to skip as he stood outside as punishment for being late. Though saddened by this, it was one thing to be standing outside as punishment and skipping recess… But the one thing that bothered him most about standing outside before the bell was-

**BRIIIIIING!!!**

… Having to stand right next to it…

The doors immediately opened, letting the students of Diamond Academy for Boys out onto the courtyard to relax before their next classes. Some waved to Sora as they went, feeling sorry for the poor boy. However, his ears were too sore from the bell ringing to have noticed them. As the students walked outside, two of them approached Sora, sighing playfully.

"Again, Sora?"

"You're gonna be the first to fail off of unexcused absences, you know"

"Roxas, shut up!" Sora replied, sticking his tongue out at the blue eyed blonde that closely resembled him. The blonde boy merely laughed as Tidus whacked Sora in the back.

"Seriously, man, you gotta get your head together" he said, as Sora rubbed his back from the pain. "Good thing Selphie's a girl otherwise she'd be here and busting your butt on everything you do!"

"I'm sure that's the ONLY reason why you're glad she's a girl" Roxas replied, noticing the light blush on Tidus' face as he said this.

"I haven't the slightest clue what you're talking about!" he shouted, turning away from him.

Sora laughed at this. His friends were hilarious. Roxas and he knew each other since they were little and have been best friends ever since. In fact, they lived pretty close to each other as well. He remembered a time where Selphie would mistaken one for the other because of how closely they resembled each other. They would even pretend to be the other as long as she continued to do so, but eventually she did grow up and begin to recognize them both. Mainly because Roxas began to become a little more mature than Sora himself.

Tidus had been in kendo with Sora, until Sora had become such a klutz that he ended up having to be taken out of the class by his parents to avoid any more injuries. However, they were both pretty playful and liked having a match or two with each other. It was only when joining the Academy that they were both able to hang out again. Sora also happened to know that Tidus had a little thing for his little sister, Selphie.

"Hey, did you hear?" a student boy asked his friend on the way out. "Siren's done it again!"

"What? Really!?" his friend asked. The two boys walked right passed the trio, attracting their attention.

"Siren?" Sora asked, the boys looking back at him with surprise and shock. However, when they both thought about it, Sora never read newspapers or watched the news, so it wasn't that surprising at all.

"Sora, you've never heard of Summoner Siren?" asked Roxas.

"Oh, that arcade game? I play it all the time!" answered Sora, and Tidus face palmed himself.

"Sora! That game is based off a real life person!" said Roxas.

"He's a crime fighter that's been helping the police force out in Kyoto for the longest time!" Tidus added, unable to believe that his friend could really be this oblivious to the outside world.

"He's a real hero?" Sora asked, shocked at this information. "Wow… How cool! He really does all those moves on the video game then!?"

Both Roxas and Tidus sighed at this. Of course Sora would only pay attention to the game information rather than the real world happenings. The both of them knew how much of an adventurous person Sora was, and how he often wished he was a hero as well.

"Excuse me, boys, but Mr. Tsukino is being punished right now" Sora's teacher announced as he opened the door to leave for recess. "You may talk to him during lunch"

"Yes, sir" they both replied, waving a bye to Sora before leaving for the courtyard with the other students. Sora sighed at this. It was routine by now that Sora watched his friends go to their morning recess while he stood in this exact same place to suffer the utter boredom that was the hallways.

However, after he saw his teacher leave, a light tapping sound had been heard amongst the hallways of the school, and Sora looked up to see if someone other than him was there. No one was around, though he was sure the sounds were real. He wasn't going mad… Or at least, he hoped. Before he could think of anything else, a light quacking had rung through the halls, and Sora turned his head, jumping in surprise at the sight before him.

The duck that he'd previously saved from the kids before had been standing right next to him, staring at him intently. Sora began to laugh nervously at this, not exactly sure why this animal's gaze was getting him uneasy. He did know that ducks don't normally walk the school hallways though.

"Uh, umm… You're from earlier…" he noted, backing away with each step the duck took towards him.

"You're just as I remember"

Sora blinked. The duck just talked.

"It's nice to see that you haven't changed. Even with all that's happened in the past" The duck said, smiling as he did so. Sora fell to the ground in shock, and the duck blinked at this strange behavior.

"A… A duck… Is… Talking…!" Sora stuttered.

"Of course, you probably wouldn't remember me that easily. My name is Donald, Sora, and I was once the mage of Disney Castle" the duck spoke.

"D-Disney Castle…?" asked Sora.

"Yes. I was second in command for King Mickey, the ultimate keyblade wielder" Donald answered.

"Key… Keyblade…?" Sora stuttered again. He couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic at the word, but he hadn't known why. Not in the slightest clue.

"Yes. The keyblade was once a powerful weapon that could help fight against the Heartless. You've previously fought them before, but in your past life" Donald explained.

"My… Past life…?" asked Sora.

"When the worlds were in danger, you, Sora, stepped up to the challenge. You were given the almighty power of the keyblade! You defended many worlds from the evil intentions of the Heartless and along with Goofy and I, saved the universe!" Donald said, hoping that this would affect some part of the boy's memory.

"I… defended the universe…?" Sora repeated. This wasn't looking too good to Donald. Sora's blank expressions only made him realize that Mickey's spell worked much better than he thought it did. Which means… That everything they all went through… All the adventures they fought together through… It didn't even ring a bell in Sora's mind…

"Sora… Do you not remember me…?" Donald asked, looking Sora in the eye.

Sora could only stare at the saddened duck as he thought harder about what he was telling him. Keyblade? Disney Castle…? What were all these terms that seemed so… familiar to him…?

_It's just as __**she**__ once said to you… If you remember the one person that you care about the most, the rest comes right to you…_

"… Huh…?" Sora asked. That voice sounded an awful lot like… Roxas… But he didn't know why…

"Sora?"

He looked around to see the students coming back inside the building, and that included Tidus and Roxas, who both stared at the boy questionably. Sora looked to see that Donald had disappeared, and stood to talk to his friends.

"Did… You say something just now?" Sora asked Roxas, who had looked at him strangely.

"No, why? I just came in" he answered, looking at the boy curiously. "You alright, man?""Yeah…" said Sora.

Truth be told, the boy was confused. What was Donald? Who was he? Why did he feel like he knew the curious duck before…? These terms- Keyblade, Heartless, and King Mickey… What did that all mean? And who's voice had just appeared in his mind? Why did the voice sound like Roxas…?

Today was becoming a really strange day.

* * *

"Irvine, as first in command, I'll have you begin your mission as soon as possible" Maleficent spoke as she sat with her bird on her throne, a staff with a misty green orb resting in her hand. Irvine bowed, nodding as she smirked.

"Your wish is my command, your majesty" he replied.

"I expect that you have some sort of plan as to gain the energy required to open the door to darkness" said Maleficent, staring into her staff's orb. "Remember, Irvine, the keyblades were powerful weapons, and their strength cannot be replicated easily. It'll take a large amount of energy- that of a keyblade to open the door that holds my army…"

"Yes, your majesty… In fact, I do have a plan, and I'm sure that it will bring us a ton of energy…" he said, smirking evilly. The Queen returned this smirk.

"Very well. Proceed"

* * *

"Hey, Rox"

"Hmm?"

"You sure you didn't say anything to me earlier?"

"Sora, what's gotten into you? I didn't say anything before finding you on the ground" Roxas answered, looking at Sora worriedly. Sora sighed.

"Sorry, just… It's been such a strange day today, that's all" said Sora, suddenly noticing that Tidus was missing. "Hey, where's Tidus?""Weren't you listening? He went to kendo class. They have a huge tournament coming and he's gotta get his act together before it comes" Roxas said.

"Oh… When is it?" Sora asked, and Roxas sighed. "Look, you're worrying me, man. You've been spacey before but this is ridiculous" Roxas noted, rubbing his head. "Go home and have a good weekend. The tournament's this Sunday, but I think he'll understand if you miss out. You're being very strange and all…""But I wanna cheer Tidus on!" Sora exclaimed. Roxas gave him a hard look.

"Sora, I'm your friend, and whatever seems to be bothering you is causing you to drift off into your own world. I'm going to tell Tidus you're staying home. That's that"

Sora sighed. He knew Roxas meant well, but there were times where he acted as though he was his mother. He had one, and he didn't need another. But when it came to Roxas, there was absolutely no argument. At least with his own mother he could just whine and nag until she'd let him go or do whatever he was asking for. Roxas was just stone cold and unbendable.

"Fine…" Sora pouted.

"Alright. Now that that's settled, let's get you home"

"I bet Summoner Siren doesn't have nagging friends" he muttered, with Roxas whacking the back of his head as a reply. "OUCH!!"

* * *

"Sora didn't remember me" Donald said. The white feathered duck had been in the bushes outside of Sora's home, waiting for the boy to come back. However, it bothered the duck to know that Sora didn't even react in the slightest towards what he was telling him. Was he wrong? Did he find the wrong Sora?

His circular emblem glowed, and a voice was heard from it.

"_A-hyuck! I wouldn't worry about it too much, Donald! Sora always was a bit slow!" _

"But Goofy, what if I'm wrong? What if I told the wrong Sora everything?"

_"I trust your intuition, Donald, just as the King did! I'm kinda busy helping Siren out here in Kyoto, but we'll be back with you and the other Summoners soon!"_

"Goofy… King Mickey said we'd have all our memories… But I can't even remember their faces… How are we supposed to find them all if we can't remember?" Donald asked, doubt filling his throat.

"_We'll just have to follow our hearts! A-hyuck! It wasn't easy finding Siren, but the King sent you to Tokyo because he trusted that you would do your job! You've always been a lot stronger than I am in combat! Just believe in the King, and yourself"_

Donald took these words to heart. Believe in himself, his heart, and the King… It was a lot to bargain for, but the fate of their futures were at hand. Though Goofy was wrong about one thing. Combat didn't matter for either of them anymore. Donald was now a normal duck who could talk, just as Goofy was now a normal dog. It was a price they had to pay in order to keep their memories…

"_Just give this Sora that you found a chance. I'm sure that his memories will return as soon as you give him more explanation. Remember, things are not as they were anymore"_

"… But…"

_"Sorry, Donald, I gotta go! But don't worry! I believe in you! We'll see you soon!"_

With that, Goofy's voice disappeared, and the emblem's light faded.

* * *

"Bwah! What a strange day!!" Sora groaned, dropping himself onto his bed. "First the duck, Roxas' voice, and then… Well, that's about it, but that duck caused a lot of confusion!"He sighed. He couldn't understand it. What was that duck trying to tell him? What was this Disney Castle and Keyblade that he spoke of? Or… Was it all just imagination? He sat up. Maybe he should've gone to see the nurse. A little sense would have been appreciated… Suddenly, his window busted open behind him, and he jumped to look at what caused the commotion.

"YOU!!" he shouted, toppling off his bed and pushing himself against the door. "Again!? What do you want from me!?"Donald was staring at him again. This time, from the outside of his window. The white duck had hopped from the window sill and onto Sora's bed, walking over to him slowly. Sora began to get nervous. Maybe he was imagining things again.

"Close my eyes" he whispered, doing so. "Maybe this dream will end"

"This isn't a dream, Sora" the duck said.

"WAAAGGHHH!! Don't say that or I won't wake up!!" he shouted, and a knock had been heard on the door that he was sidled up against.

"Sora!" Selphie said from the other side of the door. "Stop shouting!"

She opened the door, pushing Sora out of the way and causing him to topple onto his face. Selphie walked into the room, looking extremely peeved, immediately looking at the brunette.

"What are you shouting for, anyway!?" she asked, looking around the room.

Donald then quacked normally, and she looked at him, blinking. She sat on her knees to become eye level with the little duck, and stared at it for quite some time before looking at Sora again. She picked Donald up into her arms gently.

"Did you bring this little duck home, Sora?" she asked, gently stroking Donald's head. "He's so cute!"

"It's evil!! It talks!" Sora shouted, pointing accusingly at Donald, who merely quacked. Selphie rolled her eyes at the ridiculous accusation.

"You're a strange brother… I'll go ask mom if we can keep it!" she said, leaving the room quickly. Sora then bolted and ran after her, attempting to stop her. He didn't know what this duck wanted with him, but he wanted to avoid having to live with the it. "Mom!! Sora brought a cute little duck home! Can we keep it?"

"NO!!" shouted Sora, toppling down the stairs as Selphie held Donald in her arms in front of their mother. They both looked at Sora and sighed, knowing how clumsy the boy could be. Their mother looked at the duck strangely.

"Selphie, this duck must have an owner already. It has a hat on" Their mother said. "Though whoever owns it must be a hat maker! I've never seen such a hat before! It's really cute!"

"But we can't just send it back out on the streets! Can't we hold onto it for a while?" asked Selphie, stroking Donald's head again.

"Well… I guess so, but put up some flyers to alert the owner. If they don't come for him, then… I guess we can keep it" their mother said, and Selphie cheered. Sora groaned. Selphie always had her way when it came to these types of things, despite whether or not Sora protests.

"I'm gonna call you… Donald!" she said, and both Sora and Donald jumped at that.

"D-Donald?" Sora asked, looking at the duck strangely. Donald seemed to have been thinking the same thing. Did Selphie know what this duck really was? "W-Why Donald?"She giggled. "It just seems to match!"

With that, she giggled again, putting Donald down to run back up to her room. Donald and Sora looked at each other strangely. However, Sora just made sure that the duck was away from him before he begins to think that he's lost his mind.

Two days had passed, and eventually, the two hadn't seen sight of each other. Sora always found a way to keep the duckling out of his room, and Selphie took care of Donald most of the time. It was just a good thing for Donald that Selphie wasn't one of those girls who liked to dress up their pets. However, Donald eventually grew to like being around the girl. But his mission was still at hand, and the keyblader will be needed soon.

* * *

"Alright! The moment of truth is here!" shouted Tidus, putting on his kendo clothes, while Roxas stood behind him. "So you couldn't at least get Selphie to come?"

"She said she might. Said she had another responsibility to be taking care of right now, but she sounded as though she wanted to" Roxas replied. He already let Tidus become aware of Sora's absence and in return tried getting his crush to come to his tournament.

"Aww, man!" the boy complained. "But this was my chance to impress her!"

Roxas sighed. "Dude, don't think about that right now! This is your moment! This match is all yours!" Roxas cheered, trying to comfort the boy. Tidus looked at him.

"Well, alright then" he said, cracking his neck. "Let's do this!"

However, just as he said this, a great shriek had rang throughout the match building. Curious and not liking the way that shriek sounded, they both ran outside towards the ring, where a woman was just being held by her neck and glowing. The rest of the audience was in a panic to leave, but no avail. The doors were for some reason shut tight, and there was no escape. The two boys stared in shock at what was happening. There had been some kind of monster attacking the people in the room. It was tall and completely pitch black skin with yellow eyes that sent a chill up both Roxas and Tidus' spines. It was wearing am iron armor over what might have been its chest, and a helmet as well. On its thin waist seemed to have been a sheath, with a fully crafted sword.

The monster continued holding onto the woman's neck, and afterward continued to attack the rest of the people in the room, as Tidus and Roxas hid underneath one of the stands. "We have to do something!" whispered Tidus.

"What can we do? We don't even know what that thing is!" said Roxas, who had taken a better look at the creature, and noticed a symbol on the armor it wore. A symbol of a heart with stitches…

"Good work, Bushido" said a young man with a cowboy hat and rifle. "Queen Maleficent will be pleased with all this energy we're collecting"

The monster called Bushido grunted as it dropped the human it held up. Irvine looked at it with a raised eyebrow and sighed as the creature reached a hand out and snagged another victim.

"I know you're hungry for a tasty heart, but you will get to have one once we finish up collecting" Irvine said, looking around for any missing victims. "We'll be finished soon"

"We can't just sit here, Roxas!" Tidus whispered once again, as the monster took another person in its grasp. "These people are dying!"

"No… They're not…" Roxas replied. "They look like they're just… getting tired…"

At this, Irvine turned towards them.

"I thought I was hearing voice. So it wasn't my imagination" At this, Tidus and Roxas stiffened. Irvine looked at them with both eyes from the ring. They were caught. Irvine smirked.

"Alright, Bushido. Grab those two. Maybe their hearts will become your treat for your hard work after all"

The monster grunted again, reaching its shadowy arms out to grab the two. Roxas and Tidus could only scream in fear for what they were about to experience. They needed a hero right about now…

* * *

Sora had been taking a nap since earlier in the morning. The duck was constantly trying to get into his room and he eventually had to lock everything up just to keep himself safe from the monstrous thing. It wore him out, and he couldn't even use Tidus' tournament as an excuse since Roxas would have his head over it. He decided to take a nice nap…

However, he didn't notice that Donald had walked out from his closet, leaving the vent he went through open. The duck smirked in victory. He finally was able to show the boy as much of what he remembered without even having to wake him. He only hoped that this was really the boy that he and Goofy had been looking for all this time…

Flying on top of Sora's bed carefully, he slowly walked over to the sleeping brunette. Then, very slowly, he took the emblem off his neck and gently placed it on top of Sora's forehead. The tiny emblem began to glow, and without him even knowing it, Sora began to remember… many things…

"_Give me a break, Kairi!"_

There was a girl with red hair… And blue eyes…

"_Sora, let's take the raft and go! Just the two of us!"_

A handsome boy with white long hair and enchanting eyes… Something seemed to tug at Sora's heart as he saw this boy…

"_If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives. No matter what"_

At that, Sora began to squirm.

"_Giving up already? C'mon Sora, I thought you were better than that"_

"R… Riku…" he groaned. Donald's eyes widened. He had to have remembered. Only the real Sora would react that way to a memory of that person. Donald had to hold back his tears. He finally found the keyblade master… He couldn't wait to tell Goofy the minute this was over.

"_No frowning. No sad face, okay?"_

Donald…

"_Yeah, you gotta look funny! Like us!"_

Goofy…

"_We may never meet each other again, but we'll never forget each other"_

Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid… Everyone at Destiny Islands… Wonderland, Olympus Coliseum, Neverland, Agrabah, Atlantica… All these places and faces that he remembered were slowly coming back to him, and he didn't know why he'd forgotten in the first place. These friends that he made, and these strange sceneries and stories…

Their fight against the heartless, Ansem, and Maleficent. Their battle to keep the worlds in order. And most of all, to find King Mickey, his best friend Kairi, and Riku… The one he loved…

How could he have forgotten?Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and saw Donald looking at him, the emblem around his neck again. Seeing the duck again, he couldn't help but start tearing up, and tackling the poor animal to the ground. The duck began squawking, until Sora stood again, holding the delicate thing close to him.

"Donald… I… can't believe I forgot…" Sora said, tearing up as the duck felt a little awkward.

"Sora? You remember everything?" Donald asked. Sora looked at him sadly and shook his head.

"No. Bits and pieces… Mainly people I once knew" he said. Donald nodded.

"And the key?" he asked.

"Umm…" he started, holding his hand out. Mentally, he called for the keyblade, just as he'd once remembered doing… But it didn't come…

"… Sora?" Donald asked. Sora looked shaken.

"I… It won't come!" he said, holding his hand out again. It didn't appear.

"I don't understand… You ARE Sora!" Donald said. "Why won't it…?"

…_Things are not as they were anymore…_

"… Trust my heart…" Donald said to himself… He looked at Sora. "Sora, you may not remember it, but we were brought back to life from our past. The King must've changed some things about us as we were reborn…"

"So how do I summon the keyblade again?" he asked.

"…Trust your heart. Let it tell you…" Donald said. It was the only answer he could really give Sora, as he hadn't a clue of what to do. The boy looked at him skeptically.

"Trust my… heart…" he repeated, looking a bit doubtful, but closed his eyes.

He listened closely to what his heart would hopefully tell him… However, he didn't hear anything. He saw something… And suddenly, he knew what to do. Donald looked at him with hope, as the boy opened his eyes again and jumped back and shouted:

"I am here to bring peace to our worlds! Keyblade, summon UP!!"

He held his hand into the air with the last words, and suddenly, his body began to glow. He was spinning in the air for quite some time before he noticed that his whole appearance was changing. His school uniform was disappearing, and in its place was a baggy outfit with a small hooded jacket. His shoes became huge and obtained yellow and black colors with zippers and buckles. His pants ended right below his knees and like his shoes, zippers and buckles were everywhere. He also had black fingerless gloves on, and a crown necklace.

Just as he lightly landed on the ground, the giant key appeared in his hand, and he looked it up and down carefully before speaking.

"… Keyblade…" he spoke.

"You're wearing the exact outfit that I remember you in…" Donald said. At this, Sora looked himself over.

"I really wore all this stuff? I look like a super hero! Hey, I'm dressed like Summoner Siren! But… With more black, of course!" Sora noted, posing in his full sized mirror that was on the back of his door. Donald jumped at the mention of Siren, and immediately became serious.

"Summoner Siren? Have you two met?" Donald asked quickly. Sora looked at the duck with shock.

"No…" he answered. "Am I gonna?"

"Most likely" Donald answered. "But for now you must help me find the other Summoners"

Sora jumped at that. "There are more!?"

"Yes. Sora, a huge battle took place long ago, and you were part of it. However, you didn't go in it alone. Those who joined and died with you are here today, but I cannot remember what they looked like… We need to find them! A darkness is surely approaching! And we'll need your strength again to make sure it goes away for good!"

"… We… died…?" Sora asked, looking Donald in the eye. The duck turned away.

"Yes, Sora… We all died… Me, you, Goofy… And the others who joined our battle" Donald replied. "But the point of us fighting is that if we stop the darkness as soon as possible, then we can get it done quicker than last time. We won't have to die again, Sora…"

"… Understood…" Sora said, feeling a little queasy about this whole ordeal. He looked at the keyblade in his hands, and couldn't believe that this was all happening again… He remembered saving the world from Ansem, leaving Kairi on the island, and continuing his search for Riku and King Mickey…

But what happened after that?

"Oh, and here" Donald said, throwing a mask onto Sora's face. "Unlike in the past, this time is different. We cannot allow your identity to be known, otherwise the forces of darkness will use it to their advantage"

"Uh, sure" Sora said, fixing the black mask on his face. "Donald… I… don't think I want to-"

"SORA!!"

At that, he jumped. He couldn't be found like this. He instantly leapt into bed, removing his mask and hiding under his blanket, throwing the keyblade underneath him. Donald immediately hid behind the bed as well, just in time for Selphie to burst into the room.

"Sora, it's awful!" she said, looking at his current position. "How can you be in bed like this!?"

"It'd be nice if you'd tell me what's got you all riled up" Sora said, trying his hardest to keep his outfit hidden.

Selphie looked as though she was about to cry, and Sora immediately wished he hadn't said that. He remembered when she used to live on the island with him, and they weren't related… She was a cute girl who worried about her friends. He couldn't imagine what was worrying her like this.

"Tidus and Roxas are in trouble!!" she shouted, tears flowing down her face.

At that, Sora sat up, not caring whether or not his outfit was seen. Not that it mattered, because he was already back to wearing his old clothes again. He stood from his bed and looked at Selphie in the eyes. "What!? What happened!? Tidus is supposed to have a tournament today!" Sora argued.

"Exactly! But a monster had shown up at the arena and no one can get in now!" she said. Donald jumped at the sound of that. "Tidus and Roxas are still in there!!"

Sora instantly looked at Donald, who nodded. There was somewhere he needed to be. "Selphie, keep watching the news and keep me posted" he said. Selphie looked at him oddly.

"W-What?"

"I'm gonna go check it out"

"What!? B-But Sora-!"

Before she could finish her sentence, she was pushed out the door and locked out. She continuously knocked to ask Sora what he was about to do, but the boy did not answer. He jumped over his bed to find the keyblade, but it wasn't there anymore.

"Wh-Where'd the keyblade go!?" Sora asked, until he looked and saw a small keychain underneath his bed. He picked it up and examined it closely.

"It must have shrunk for secrecy purposes" Donald noted. "Let's go, Sora"

"Right" he said. He looked around. "I am here to bring peace to our worlds! Keyblade, summon UP!!"

* * *

"L-Let go!!" Tidus grunted, trying to loosen the grip of the monster that had his neck in its grasp. He felt his energy slowly leaving him, and was soon too weak to get anything done. Roxas had been in the same position, except in the monster's other arm. Soon they were both weakening, and Irvine sat on the side to watch it all.

"Don't worry, boys… Soon, you won't have to suffer anymore" Irvine said, chuckling lightly. "Queen Maleficent will put your energy to good use"

"Not so fast, buster!"

At that, the monster stopped draining the two boys' energy, and Irvine looked to see who had spoken, only to find a boy who seemed to have broken opened through a back door. The light from the outside seemed to have blocked out his features to the point where they could only see his silhouette. They all looked at the boy curiously, wondering who he was. Irvine raised an eyebrow.

"And just, who are you supposed to be?" he asked.

"Ruining a glorious day for those who've trained their hardest is unacceptable in my book!" the boy said, walking into the room to show himself to his enemies. Roxas and Tidus both looked at the boy and his outfit curiously.

"…S… Summoner Siren…?" they both said.

"Sorry, boys, but that's not the name! I am Summoner Keyblader!!" Sora said, the keyblade appearing in his hand, which he held up high. "I bring peace to the worlds around, and stop those who sabotage it!"

"Summoner Keyblader, hmm?" Irvine said, standing up. "Bushido, take care of this runt and meet me later"

The monster grunted again as Irvine disappeared through a dark portal. Sora gasped at the sight of the darkness, feeling a sudden nostalgic feeling wash over him. What was it about the portal that bothered him…?

The monster roared loudly, bringing Sora back to his senses, and charged towards him, sheathing a black sword from it's waist. Sora jumped away from the attack, tripping over his feet doing so. Roxas and Tidus fell to the ground and lost consciousness, and Sora stood from the ground, the keyblade appearing in his hand again. The monster roared again, and this time, knocked Sora into a nearby wall. He grunted in pain at the impact, and held his sore shoulder as Bushido raised his sword at him once again.

"I… Can't do this" Sora said, in realization.

He wasn't as strong as he was before. This heartless wasn't like anything he'd fought before. It was much faster, and smaller. He was used to fighting big powerful ones that weren't hard to see. The monster was charging at him again, and before Sora could do anything, he covered himself, bracing for the hit.

However, the attack didn't come.

"… Huh…?"

Sora slowly opened his eyes, feeling as though he was flying. Technically speaking, he was! Someone was carrying him, and when he looked around to see a muscular for, in a dark outfit. It looked like some kind of organic body suit with a red belt around his waist, and red outlines covering his chest and abs. There were also red boots on his feet, and a large silver helmet that was covered in a dark glass, hiding his face. Along his waist was a cape like fabric with tears at the ends, giving it a sort of texture as they fell to the ground.

"Uh…" Sora stuttered, surprised at the appearance of this mysterious savior.

"Do not doubt your strength, Keyblader" the mysterious figure spoke, his voice enchanting Sora as if with hypnosis. Sora looked into the dark glass of his helmet, hoping to at least get a glimpse of his eyes… However, the tint prevented him from doing so, and they both turned to the monster.

"Doubt…?" Sora asked.

"Your strength comes from your friends, and they are counting on you"

As he said this, he pointed over to Tidus and Roxas, who were both still unconscious on the ground in the middle of the ring. Sora looked at them, seeing their weakened and exhausted faces had hit a spot in him. They were counting on him… Many people in this building were…

"Tidus and Roxas…" Sora muttered, looking at their unconscious bodies.

He remembered Tidus from Destiny Islands. Along with Selphie, they were always with Sora and his friends on the island. They would talk to each other every once in a while, and sometimes spar. But in this time, Tidus had a crush on Selphie, and was trying to impress her by showing his strength in the ring… But his chance was taken away by this monster, and Roxas was also dragged into the mess…

… He wouldn't forgive this…

Sora stood tall, and proud. He pointed his keyblade to Bushido, who grunted with hunger. His yellow eyes shown brightly at the sight of the keyblade. Sora only recognized this as when Heartless used to come after his heart due to the keyblade's strength, despite their fear of it. He readied himself.

"I won't… forgive this…!!" he shouted.

At this, he began to glow with an intense amount of energy that Bushido could only watch in awe for a couple moments. Sora closed his eyes, feeling the energy rising and washing over him. His anger with the treatment of his friends gave him the strength he needed to take Bushido down. His eyes opened, and a fury was released as he held the keyblade in hand, charging towards Bushido.

"BERSERK!!!" he shouted, attacking the monster ruthlessly and angrily.

Bushido was unable to move. Sora had been too fast for him to do anything to counter. He tried his best to block the constant attacks that were being thrown at him, but unfortunately his attempts were in vain. With one final blow, Sora had cut through Bushido's form, and the giant creature faded away… Sora stood again, looking at where the monster had once been, only to hear clapping.

He turned to see Irvine, standing in a corner, lightly clapping as though bitter.

"Very nice, Keyblader" he complimented. "I underestimated you. We shall meet again, when I have another chance at stealing energy"

With that, he fell into another portal, leaving Sora dumbstruck and confused. However, he looked to see that people were beginning to wake up again, and he needed to leave. As he was about to, the door that he came through was currently blocked by someone. The same person who had just saved his life…

"Good job, Keyblader… I'll be seeing you more from now on" the figure said, turning to leave.

"Wait! Please! Tell me who you are!" he pleaded, and the figure turned his head a little.

"… Diablos… Til we meet again" he said, jumping out of sight. Sora watched longingly, curious to know who his savior really was…

"Ugghh… What happened?" Tidus asked, waking up. As Roxas began to gain consciousness, they looked to see a figure waiting at the open door, the light shrouding his features. Only his silhouette was visible.

"Peace is once again supreme, for now… Summoner Keyblader will always be here to keep it that way!"

With that, the figure disappeared. Tidus and Roxas both looked at each other, before looking around to find other people getting up as well. Whoever this Summoner Keyblader was, he saved their lives. They were all extremely grateful, and curious to know who he really was…

* * *

"TIDUS!!" Shouted Selphie, tackling both him and Roxas to the ground. "Roxas!! I'm so glad you two are okay!!"

"It's alright, Selphie!" Roxas said, trying to breathe. Though the girl was thin and frail, she was awfully heavy. Not that he'd tell her that to her face, of course.

"I was so worried!!" she said, hugging Tidus close. At this Tidus blushed a little, with Roxas rolling his eyes on the side.

"Is Sora here? We gotta tell him the most amazing things!" Roxas said, looking around for the brunette.

"He's sleeping. He knocked himself out trying to get out of his room to see you guys. What a doofus" she said. "He probably forgot to open his window and knocked himself out trying to jump"

The three of them laughed at this. "That's Sora for you" Tidus said.

They didn't see that in his room, Sora was asleep from exhaustion of the battle at the tournament arena. He held onto the small keychain in his hand, tightly, as if for dear life. Donald watched him as he slept, a smile spreading itself onto his face.

"Welcome back… Sora…"

* * *

_Hey guys, this is Sora! Things have gotten strange with this whole being the Summoner Keyblader thing going on, but now there's something else on my mind. A new student has arrived, and he's awfully smart! With my grades falling due to my duties as the Keyblader, a new tutor would help me some, but what's this? The darkness has chosen another target for their evil intentions? Wagh! I'm gonna fail if this keeps up! _

On the next chapter- '**Intelligence is Key! Summoner Shiva Arrives!'**


	3. Summoner Shiva Arrives!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Sailor Moon, but I really hope Nomura doesn't hate me for this chapter

* * *

**Intelligence is Key! Summoner Shiva Arrives!**

_Hey! My name is Sora Tsukino. I go to Diamond Academy for Boys, and am in the 10__th__ Grade. I'm usually late for school, often clumsy, and like to eat or go to the arcade to play Summoner Siren games! I have two friends named Roxas and Tidus, a sister named Selphie, and a duck named Donald for a pet! _

_Oh, and did I mention why I have a duck for a pet? That's because I, in actuality, I am a crime fighter and world protector who wields a powerful weapon known as the keyblade! In the past, I was the keyblade bearer and apparently died with a selected few in the final battle to protect the worlds around. Because of this, I have now begun my new journey with Donald's help as Summoner Keyblader! I am to fight the darkness that he predicts is slowly approaching- AND keep my grades up in school! I hate my life, but I guess if someone's gotta do it, it might as well be me!_

… _I mean, after all- who else can save our city from crime and darkness better than I can?_

"Class, I'd like you all to welcome our new student- Zexion Mizuno"

The whole class stared at the new boy who entered. His hair seemed to shine in the lights as it was pure white, and covered half of his face as only one eye was visible. He was rather skinny and short, but his facial expression looked nothing more than serious and gave an aura as though not to be messed with. His book bag looked very expensive, as it was a nice leather, and the books in his arm were rather big. Sora couldn't understand why people create such big books when reading seemed to have been such a waste of time. After all, HE was the world's protector! He didn't have time to read, even if he WANTED to!

"Though not in our class, Mr. Mizuno is a top class student who's been rated as number one in the country! Our chairman would like him to feel as comfortable as possible, and has asked that he be introduced to everyone"

Some students rolled their eyes at this. Since all of them were boys, they didn't really care if the smartest person in the world came to their school. It made no difference to them. It was just another way of making them feel stupid. Sora, however, looked at this boy in awe.

"Thank you Mr. Mizuno. You may return to your class" the teacher said finally, and Zexion bowed before leaving the room. Some of the boys in the class muttered as the teacher took some time to organize his notes and lesson plans. As this took place, Roxas leaned over to Sora and Tidus' desk.

"That guy seemed really haughty!" Tidus said with an annoyed tone. Roxas, however, had a different opinion on him.

"I dunno… I think he looked… familiar" he said, rubbing the back of his head in thought.

"His hair was awesome!" Sora said, and the two of them looked at him with strange looks.

"Sora?" Tidus asked, looking surprised.

"I mean, seriously! I'd like to look like him! AND he's smart!" he said. "I think he sounds pretty cool!"

"I guess… But I kinda agree with Tidus" Roxas spoke, and Sora looked at him. "The guy didn't say anything to the class at all. Kinda rude. Maybe even arrogant"

"Nah, I still think he's pretty cool!" Sora said, putting his arms behind his head to rest on them. Tidus snorted.

"Yeah, I'll bet…" he muttered.

* * *

As Sora went outside to the courtyard, he looked around for the white haired male. However, among the students that were situated out on tables where the sun was shining, he was nowhere to be seen. Sora continued to look, though, knowing that a smart student wouldn't ditch in the middle of school. Especially on his first day! He turned a corner of the building.

"Now where could he…?" Sora asked to no one in particular. He turned his head. "Aha!"

As he saw, underneath a tree near the back of the school was Zexion Mizuno. He had been sitting in shade against the tree with his bag next to him and a book in hand. He seemed to have been reading intently, being alone. Sora blinked at this. Why would such a favored student be sitting all alone under a tree during school? Shrugging this question away, he walked over to the boy and stood in front of him for a few moments. However, Zexion didn't respond to his presence in any way.

"Hey!" Sora said, cheerfully. However, the boy didn't respond. "… Hey…?"

"Is there something you'd like?"

Sora jumped at the response. It was so sudden, and the boy didn't move at all in doing so. Sora bent towards the white haired male to see if his eye was looking at him. It wasn't.

"Uh… I'm Sora! Sora Tsukino! You were introduced in my class today!" he said.

"I was introduced to everyone today. I also read the student list of Diamond Academy for Boys, and you are student number 5024- Sora Tsukino. Often known for being tardy and eating or sleeping during class" Zexion replied.

Ouch. STING!

"Uhh… Yeah… Well, I just thought I'd… meet you personally!" said Sora, holding his hand out to the boy. Zexion didn't move, and Sora became a little uncomfortable with the awkward silence that surrounded the two. He was about to speak again, but Zexion spoke first.

"Hold on, let me finish this page" he said, and Sora looked at him. So he wasn't ignoring him?

"Uh, okay…?" he said.

In a few moments, Zexion bookmarked his page and closed his book, placing it on his lap. He then looked up at Sora and took hold of his hand, shaking in gently. Sora was surprised at first, but composed himself quickly.

"Zexion Mizuno. It's nice to meet you, Number 5024" he said politely. Sora laughed.

"You can just call me Sora!" he replied, humbly. "It's nice to meet you too!"

Though it started out awkward and strange, the two boys ended up becoming on good terms with each other. Zexion was actually humble and kind, but a little shy towards new places and people. Sora learned this pretty quickly when he tried introducing him to Roxas and Tidus. Zexion also admitted to having a weakness for books. Most of the time, he cannot put a book down when in the middle of an important or interesting part, which causes some people to think rudely of him. However, Sora was able to see through this. Eventually, the two became pretty good friends with each other, despite Zexion's huge vocabulary that Sora had a hard time understanding.

Sora couldn't wait to tell Donald.

* * *

"New friend?" Donald asked, eating his food as he sat in Sora's bed.

"Yeah, his name's Zexion! And he's really smart! Top student in the country!" Sora said. "I wonder if he can help me in school… I HAVE been failing an awful lot of classes"

"Sora, there's no time for tutoring!" Donald said, standing. "If you want to pass, just pay attention to school when it's time for school! And that INCLUDES getting there on time! You have to remember your duties as the keyblade bearer!"

"But Donald…" Sora whined, pouting.

"Don't forget, you're supposed to be looking for the other Summoners and the Prince of Hearts!" Donald said, and Sora's head popped up at that.

"…Prince of Hearts?" he asked, blinking in curiosity. "What's that?"

"We aren't really supposed to talk about it, but in the past, it was a secret" Donald said, looking at the ground. "Now we may need for you to know about it. The Prince of Hearts is the one MALE in the universe who's heart is filled with the largest amount of light possible!"

"One male?" Sora asked.

"Yes, but not just any male. He's not only got the most light in his heart, but also the strength to fight off the darkness and banish it once and for all" Donald replied. Sora listened intently, highly interested in who such a person could be.

"But… How do you figure out who it could be?"

"… Truthfully, I'm not sure we can" Donald said, and Sora stood from his seating position on the ground.

"Why?" he asked.

"The Prince of Hearts is usually chosen by the previous Prince of Hearts, who would currently be King" Donald said, looking troubled. "King Mickey had once been Prince of Hearts, which made him the King of Disney Castle later… However, Goofy nor I know if he even CHOSE a successor"

"And with the King gone…" Sora started.

"… There may not even BE a Prince of Hearts… Master Yen Sid was the Prince of Hearts before King Mickey, and since King Mickey was Master Yen Sid's pupil, it's only natural that he was chosen as the Prince of Hearts when Master Yen Sid gave up his own keyblade…" Donald explained.

Sora thought this over for a minute. Yen Sid… That name sounded very familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly why… He looked at Donald and asked.

"Have I met this Yen Sid before?"

Donald looked at him.

"Sora… How much do you remember?" he asked seriously. Sora's face faltered.

"Umm… Only up to after we defeated Ansem and began our search for Riku and King Mickey I guess…" he answered, and Donald sighed.

"Yes, we have met Master Yen Sid" Donald replied, staring intently into his food with a spacey look. "He gave up his keyblade because he was becoming too old, and he also felt that King Mickey had been ready to become his heir. However, we weren't told this. This knowledge that I'm giving you now is part of King Mickey's own memory, which was passed onto me and Goofy when we were reborn"

Sora looked at Donald for a moment, and wondered how it must have felt… Being pushed into so much responsibility with no guidance. He, himself was pushed into responsibility, yes, but at the very least he had Donald to guide him through whatever should arise. He couldn't help but feel bad for both Donald and Goofy. In fact, with the seriousness of their predicament, he had to wonder if his old friend Goofy was still the same klutzy person that he remembered him being…

"So… Then you WOULD know if King Mickey chose a successor or not…" Sora stated. "If you have parts of his memory and all…"

"… I would…" Donald replied, regrettably.

There was an awkward silence between the two. Donald staring off into space over this discussion had Sora debating with himself whether or not they'd be able to do this. Whether they would be able to fight this darkness again… It was almost impossible to believe that they could do this when they didn't have the Prince of Hearts to help them…

"But on another note…" Donald started. "The remaining Summoners"

This brought Sora back up.

"We don't know who they could be, either, but unlike the Prince of Hearts, there will be a sign" Donald said. Sora raised an eyebrow.

"A sign…?" he asked.

"Yes. You see, when the king sent us here to this future, he wanted to be sure that those who fought and died then would be able to fight evil today. If any of those who were brought here today were from that battle, then when in any form of danger their past selves would save them" Donald explained.

"Their past selves? How?" Sora asked.

"I can't say exactly… But I know that when they're in danger, they'll be protected by their own powers, despite them not knowing about it" he answered. Sora stared at him in awe.

"… That's cool…" he noted. Donald looked at him again.

"But we cannot be relying on that kind of luck for long. The darkness will soon grow to a point where you cannot handle on your own. You need the other Summoners as soon as possible!" he said, and Sora sighed.

"Well, even with a sign as subtle as that, there has to be a better way in finding them!" he complained, crossing his arms.

"Hmm… Not that I can think of" Donald said, thinking deeply. "But that doesn't mean just go about your business! Be alert! The enemy could be anywhere!"

"Gee, paranoid much?" Sora muttered, walking out of his room. Donald jumped up.

"Where are you going?" Donald asked. Sora yawned.

"To the arcade" he sighed. "Can't I even do that anymore?"

"Sora, you're completely disregarding the importance of this-!"

However, Sora had already left the room. Donald sighed with frustration.

* * *

"Irvine, if you would like to kindly explain the reason for your past failure, I'd be very pleased…"

"My apologies, your majesty… There's a… predicament that we've previously discussed, and it's now shown it's little head…" Irvine replied, his face towards the ground as he bowed to Maleficent, who was now sitting in her throne. Hearing this, she frowned, stroking the feathers on her faithful pet gently.

"… The Keyblader…" she muttered. "… Very well… I will let you continue your work, as I myself have had previous experiences trying to stop that pest…"

"Queen Maleficent?" Irvine asked curiously.

"I wonder how much the Keyblader has changed…" she whispered to herself, staring off into space. "Irvine, get to work immediately"

"And should the Keyblader interfere…?"

"I believe I have a solution to that"

* * *

Sora sighed.

"Why does Donald have to be such a spoiled sport? It's not like I haven't done this before!" Sora complained, hands behind the back of his head. "For a someone that was reborn into a normal duck, he still has that annoying temper I remember!"

As he said this, he looked up at the sky. It was a bright sunny day to be doing something indoors like homework. He had to wonder what Zexion was doing right now… However, before he could think of anything, he tripped.

"Agh-!"

An arm swung itself around his waist, preventing him from eating the ground. He sighed in relief as he found his footing again and stood. He turned to look at his savior to thank him.

"Hey thanks-" he started, but gasped at who it was.

There, standing before him was a taller muscular male with snow white hair and the purest aquamarine eyes possible. His bangs fell over his eyes, and the rest of his hair flowed back and ended near his mid-back. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt and a black vest with baggy dark jeans and converses. He also had a pair of black fingerless gloves on. Sora was speechless at the handsome features of this boy, but not just because of that. He just couldn't forget that face…

… It was Riku…

"You should be more careful" the boy said, walking passed Sora and towards the arcade that he was about to step into.

Sora stood there for what seemed like centuries… Riku was not only alive, but here with him. The boy that he grew up with and grew to love on Destiny Islands was here with him. But… The other didn't seem to recognize him. Should he be concerned about that…?

"Sora?"

At that, he turned around.

"Oh, Zexion! What're you doing here?" he asked. The other walked over to him, carrying his books in one hand and his book bag in the other.

"I just came back from cram school" the one eyed boy replied. "On my way home until I saw you"

Sora forced a laugh, and turned back to look at the arcade. Riku was here. Riku was alive… And when he thought about Riku's arm being around his waist, he blushed furiously. How he wished he could be in his arms again… But what bothered him was that Riku didn't remember. They were never really talked other than their crushes on Kairi at the time, but… Then Sora began to fall for him instead…

… Kairi…? Where was SHE?

"Sora? I'm aware that you're spacey, but there is a limit"

He snapped out of it and turned to the boy next to him.

"Oh, sorry, Zex! I just… Saw someone I remember" Sora laughed, staring back at the doors of the arcade. Seeing the longing in his eyes, Zexion looked at the doors as well, and shrugged to himself.

"Why don't we go see then?"

Sora looked at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Obviously whoever this is must have been important to you. Let's go meet him" he said, walking towards the arcade. Sora became a little flustered at the thought of meeting Riku again, but shook his head. He followed Zexion through the doors, laughing at him.

"Never thought an ace student would have the time for video games!" he teased, and Zexion smirked.

"Don't need to play these anymore. I'm the highest score on them all" he looked around, and Sora dropped his jaw at that.

"WHAT?" he practically shouted.

"I usually go under my name- Zexion, but if they ask for initials, then I go as ZEX"

"That's… That's AWESOME!" Sora said. Zexion laughed at this.

"Well, do you see him?" he asked, looking around, and Sora saw Riku near the counter, talking to the worker Wakka, who'd been doing nothing just now.

"There he is…" Sora pointed, walking slowly over to him. Zexion looked at this behavior, observing it carefully, and smirked.

"Never thought you were gay, but I guess I should've realized it" he noted. Sora stopped in his tracks, burning furiously red. He turned to Zexion. "It's alright. Truthfully, I'm gay, too"

"I-What! Y-You are?" he asked, looking closely at the boy.

"Yes, but unfortunately, no one really talks to me. You're actually my first real… friend…" he said, turning a bit pink at the cheeks. However, he tried to not let it show.

"Well, looks like we'll be doing a lot of guy searching together from now on!" Sora cheered, patting Zexion on the back. Zexion looked at him.

"Pardon? I was under the impression you were already into him" Zexion said, pointing to Riku, whom he still had yet to meet. Sora blushed.

"Well, I… He probably doesn't remember me…" Sora said.

He wasn't exactly lying. He was just in Riku's arms, and it appeared as though Riku hadn't remembered a thing. He didn't even show a tiny bit of reaction towards the person he saved. This saddened Sora a bit… However, before he could do anything else, Zexion started pushing him towards the taller, muscular male. Sora waved his arms frantically as he tried to get out of Zexion's grip, but as lanky as the boy looked, he was rather strong. As they grew closer to the two at the counter, Wakka looked at them both.

"Ah, Zexion! Sora! How's life? Gonna try to beat scores on Summoner Siren?" Wakka asked happily waving to the two. Riku, trying to see who his friend had been talking to, turned around. But the reaction Sora imagined was way different from the one he originally thought he'd get.

"This is my school friend Riku. Riku, this is Sora" Wakka introduced, the two staring at each other for who knows how long.

It was a lot different from when Riku first saw him. Riku was actually looking into his eyes this time, but now that he had, it seemed as though the two couldn't stop looking at each other… Sora's blue eyes had reminded Riku of the ocean. An ocean that he felt he hadn't swam in or seen in such a long time… And Sora looked into Riku's, his eyes reminding him of jewels… The two stared at each other for a while. Riku feeling nostalgic as he saw the brunette, and Sora feeling as though he'd died and gone to heaven…

"Ahem"

They both snapped out of their trance to look at Wakka, who was smirking. They instantly turned red and faced the other way from each other until Wakka looked at Zexion.

"So how's things with school, Zexion, my man?" he asked the one eyed boy. "Riku, this is Zexion. He's got the highest scores on all the games here. Pretty cool, yah?"

Riku turned from Sora reluctantly to greet the other boy, but froze as he stared into the blue eye of the white haired scholar. They both stared at each other for a while, Zexion with a confused look, but Riku with a horrified one. Sora stared between the two for what seemed like a long time, and Wakka was helping someone with their game card at the moment. Immediately, Riku stood from his seat and tore his gaze away from Zexion, giving Sora a quick goodbye before walking out of the arcade.

The two friends looked at each other and blinked awkwardly.

"That was… strange…" Sora said. Why would Riku give Zexion that look? It was as if the two knew each other… "Have you two met before?"

"Not that I know of…" Zexion answered, shaking his head. "But I must admit I did feel a bit… nostalgic at the sight of him… Like I _have_ met him before"

Sora frowned at this. He had that very same nostalgic feeling before with Donald and the mention of the keyblade. Could this possibly mean that Zexion might have been another one of the people reincarnated from the past? Or maybe they just ran into each other at this arcade before…? But if that might have been the case, then why did Riku look so terrified? He knew Riku was a good guy from his own memories, but… The only thing he could think of that would make him afraid was if there was a powerful enemy. Could Zexion…?

…Could Zexion have been an enemy in the past…?

Would the sight of him make Riku nervous?

"Sora, you alright?"

He looked to see Wakka waving a hand in front of him, and Zexion staring at him strangely. He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Oh, uh, yeah! Just kinda zoned out there!" he said, laughing. Wakka smiled at him.

"Well, bra, don't be getting too zoned out! It bad for you!" he said, laughing. Suddenly, a worker with a cowboy hat and long ponytail walks over to them with a worker who was wearing sunglasses and a cloth around the bottom of his face. Wakka waves to them. "Something wrong, bra?"

"There seems to be a problem with the shooting games over there" the cowboy said, pointing to the corner where a couple of people were grumbling. Wakka sighed.

"Again? What's going on with the games lately?" he asked. "Sorry guys, but I gotta help over there"

"No problem, Wakka. We'll see you after" Sora said, still a little nervous from the earlier event. The cowboy looked at the two of them and smiled.

"Sorry, boys, but if you want, you could try out the Summoner Siren games that are still open" he said cheerfully. Sora immediately beamed.

"Oh yeah! Let's go, Zex!" he said, grabbing the boy's hand and dragging him towards the many games that were near the window.

Neither of them noticed the evil grin on the cowboy's face as they walked over to the games. He smirked towards the worker next to him, whose sunglasses glinted with an unknown purpose. The cowboy chuckled.

"Stupid people, wasting their energy with trivial games and useless fantasies…" Irvine said. "Nomura, what do you say we begin soon?"

The worker next to him gave a 'BEEP' sound, and Irvine smirked. Whatever their plan was, it didn't sound like a good one.

* * *

"Dang it, Sora! Why doesn't he get the severity of this situation!" Donald muttered to himself while walking towards the arcade. "If we don't find the other Summoners soon…!"

But suddenly, as he stepped into the arcade, he froze. He looked frantically around at the games and people playing them. A mysterious, yet, evil presence was surrounding the area right now and it didn't mean anything good. He needed to find Sora and quickly.

"Alright, alright, I'm getting closer!"

Hearing the cheery voice, he looked over to see the brunette and someone else playing a Summoner Siren game. However, Donald immediately froze with widened eyes at the sight of the boy who Sora was with. He didn't know why, but he didn't like him. He couldn't put his feather on it, but that hair, that eye, that stature looked familiar… But he didn't know why. He waddled over to Sora, quacking to get the boy's attention as he couldn't reveal his language in front of suspicious people. Zexion looked at the duck questionably.

"Sora? Is this duck yours?" he asked the brunette. Sora glanced at Donald for a minute, and quickly returned to his game.

"Uh, yeah! That's Donald!" he said, pressing buttons everywhere. However, he wasn't quick enough to see the missile coming towards his character from behind. "AWW SHOOT!"

Zexion laughed at the loss, but turned back to look at Donald. He bent down to get a closer look at the duck, and Donald looked at him nervously.

"Don't normally see people having ducks as pets. How peculiar…" Zexion noted, stroking Donald's feathers gently. Though Donald was still very suspicious towards the boy, he couldn't help but relax at the soothing feeling. He knew there was something about the boy that bothered him, but he couldn't figure out what…

Zexion stopped and stood to pat Sora on the back. "Cheer up, Sora. You'll get to my score soon"

The boy didn't seem convinced, and groaned at the 'Game Over' screen. However, just as he was about to press continue, the screen lit up brightly, partially blinding the three of them. Games everywhere in the arcade were beginning to light up, and the doors became tightly shut with the protective metal sheet rolling itself down. Zexion and Sora looked around to the best of their ability, confused at the strange happenings. Suddenly, a voice screamed.

"AAGGH! H-Help!"

The three looked over to see a teenager getting held by the arms by a bunch of wires that sprouted from an arcade game. Others in the arcade began to panic, running towards the doors to get out. However, before they could get far, other games began to sprout wires as well, attaching themselves to a person. They all screamed at the loss of energy.

"What in the world's going on!" Wakka asked, until wires wrapped themselves around him, too. "Ugh…! Help!"

Irvine laughed as he watched his manager become held up in the air with his energy being drained. He then removed the work uniform to reveal his black jeans, black shirt, and his beige coat that ended at his knees. He also had a sniper gun in his hand that he held over his shoulder in a relaxed manner. Smirking, he looked over to his co-worker.

"Alright, Nomura. You can take off the get-up. We're out in the open now" he said. The worker grunted, before quickly removing the clothing in shreds and revealing his true form.

Nomura looked more like a cartoon than a monster. He had big yellow eyes and two antennas that pointed in opposite directions. He also had an outfit that made him look like a fantasy superhero, with his robe and mage staff, yet, with a bunch of other trinkets that looked like items from a video game. Nomura was actually pretty short compared to his human form.

"Steal the energy from these humans and meet me back at headquarters. I'll drop by to check your progress, of course" Irvine instructed before disappearing into another dark portal.

"Your wish is my command" Nomura said, his squeaky voice surprising those around him as the games continued to wreak havoc all around.

Zexion and Sora listened to the whole thing, and were ducked to hide themselves from being noticed. Sora looked at Donald, who shook his head and gestured towards Zexion. Sora couldn't transform with a citizen near him.

"We have to do something" Zexion whispered. Sora looked at him. "We can't just sit here and watch these people get hurt!"

"But… what do we do!" Sora whispered back. Zexion began to look around, and saw the creature called Nomura again.

"He must be controlling the games!" he said, pointing to the mage wand in Nomura's hand. "That staff is glowing! If we were to separate him from the staff, we should be good to go!"

At that, Donald looked at Zexion again. Something was odd about this boy, but he didn't know what. There was a sense of intelligence and common sense that he knew no regular human would have in such a dire situation as this. What WAS this boy…?

"But what do we do once they're separated?" Sora asked nervously. Zexion looked at him to tell him, but as he looked behind Sora, his eye widened.

"SORA, LOOK OUT!" he shouted, pushing Sora aside as a rope lassoed itself around his neck and held him up. Sora looked at him frightfully.

"Z-Zexion!" he shouted.

Nomura had been right above them, holding Zexion by the neck with what looked like a toy rope. Zexion held onto the rope to keep himself from being strangled. Nomura sent another rope to get Sora, but he dove away from it before it could catch him and tumbled out of his sight. Donald followed him as Nomura held Zexion in the air.

"Donald!" Sora cried, staring at Zexion, who continued to struggle.

"Transform now!" Donald said. Sora hesitated.

"But Zexion-" he started.

"You can help him once you've transformed now HURRY!" Donald squawked. Sora looked at Zexion once more before nodding and holding out the keychain.

"I'm here to bring peace to our worlds! Keyblade, summon UP!" he shouted, his body being lifted into the air as his clothes changed into his Summoner form. Donald looked over at Zexion as he did this.

"L-Let go of me!" Zexion sputtered out, holding onto the rope tightly.

"You're such a bore with these books…" Nomura muttered with a cute squeaky voice. "Why not play a couple of games?"

"There are more… important things that need to be done than a simple game!" he said, and before he could say anymore, a bright light appeared on his forehead. A sparkling 'S' formed on his head, and a light mist began to fill the room. Donald stared at Zexion with a dropped jaw.

"That… mark!" he quacked.

Suddenly, the keyblade was shot at Nomura, and he cried out in pain as he dropped Zexion. He looked around angrily, before seeing a dark silhouette standing on top of a row of arcade machines.

"This arcade is used as a pass time for those who need to let loose and have fun! I will not permit you to do what you please with it!" the figure said as the keyblade appeared in his hand again. Nomura snorted.

"And you are?" he growled.

"I am Summoner Keyblader!" he announced, the mist clearing enough for him to be seen. He pointed his keyblade to Nomura. "I bring peace to the worlds around, and stop those who sabotage it!"

"Heh, a rip off of Summoner Siren, I see!" Nomura sneered. "How 'bout dodging THIS!"

As he said this, a tiny cannon was pulled out from his robe, and shot at Sora, who barely dodged the attacks. He jumped from place to place, yelping at the sight of the damage each shot was dealing to the room. Donald watched this with fear as Sora looked to see a mark on Nomura's robes.

"It… It's a Heartless!" he shouted.

As he continued to dodge the barrage of cannon balls, he tried to swipe Nomura with the keyblade, but missed. He continued with the attempts, but it was no use. With Nomura's speed and him levitating all over the place, Sora couldn't get a hit on him. Donald ran towards Zexion, who was removing the rope from his neck as he coughed.

"You need to help the Keyblader!" Donald squawked. Zexion looked at him blankly.

"Did… Did you just talk?" he asked, staring at Donald curiously.

"Yes, I did! But no time to explain! You have to help Summoner Keyblader!" he cried, and Zexion looked at him.

"But… How can I…?" he asked, watching Sora and Nomura fight. As he said this, Donald thought for minute.

"Believe in yourself!" he said. "You have an intelligence that no one else has! You are guarded by the spirit of Shiva! The all knowledgeable and elegant summoner of ice!"

"Shiva…" he started. "I… I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about"

Donald knew he wasn't wrong. That mark wouldn't have appeared just anywhere. There had to be a way to get Zexion to help Sora right now, but how? If the boy couldn't remember anything, how was he supposed to help someone? Along with this trouble was the fact that Donald couldn't figure out why he didn't like Zexion at first. Why did the feelings seem… familiar? There wasn't any time to think about it, unfortunately, as Sora only got hurt every second that they stalled with this. In fact, he'd suddenly been thrown into the wall, causing both Donald and Zexion to turn their attention to him.

"Urgh!" Sora yelped at the impact, slowing shrinking down the wall to his knees. Nomura flew closer to him, his smirk only growing bigger as he watched Summoner Keyblader cringe in pain.

"Poor little hero. Looks like it's Game Over for you!" Nomura squeaked as he raised his staff over Sora's head. "Good-bye!"

However, before he could do anything else, he squealed in pain as someone came quickly between him and the Keyblader. Once again, Sora found himself being carried away from the bad guy by the same mysterious figure from before. Donald and Zexion both grew wide eyes from the sight of this. Nomura shrieked.

"And who are you?" he angrily shouted.

The lone figure was quiet for a moment, before speaking as he slowly put Sora down. He raised his sword, pointing it straight at Nomura.

"I am the Dark Diablos. Here to help those in need" he said. Turning his head towards Sora, he spoke in a softer tone. "As long as you need me, I will be here"

At this, Sora couldn't help but blush. This mysterious figure sure had a way with guys, and Sora couldn't help but melt at the sound of his voice. It was so entrancing. So mesmerizing… So unreal. The Dark Diablos turned back to Nomura, who looked absolutely livid.

"Think you're a match for me now that you've got your boyfriend to save you? HA!" he scoffed. "I am the master of fantasy and adventure! Of magic and _illusion_! You can't beat me in my own GAME!"

Suddenly, at the sudden statement, Zexion suddenly felt something jolt within him. His heart began to pound, his head grew blank, and suddenly, he looked around to see that he wasn't in the arcade anymore. In fact, he didn't know WHERE he was at all! All he could really see was mist…

_Do not fear me_

At this, he quickly turned to see a man who looked almost identical to him in a dark cloak. The same white hair, covered eye, and stance. The only difference was that he was a little more muscular, and older looking. His presence caused a sudden shiver to occur through Zexion's body, and he held himself to keep warm. Confused, he looked at him, silently requesting answers.

_Your destiny has begun its course. Take my hand, and all will soon become clear_

As he held out his hand, Zexion looked at it questionably, not sure of what he was about to do. However, as confused as he was, he felt as though something had been calling him. Something was telling him that he wasn't out to do him any harm. In fact, he felt as though they were… connected… He took the older man's hand, and felt a gentle tug. A rush of feelings had suddenly coursed through Zexion's veins as he fell through a sort of déjà vu at the power he was gaining. He looked at the older figure, who smirked, before fading away from his vision.

"ARGH!"

At the sudden yell, Zexion snapped out of his trance and looked to see Nomura and the Dark Diablos going head to head with Summoner Keyblader jumping in every now and then. However, even with the both of them going at Nomura, the smaller creature was still too fast for them to even get a hit on him. Donald looked terrified at the helplessness he felt, not noticing Zexion standing up.

He wasn't sure at first, but one thing he knew. He was destined to help whoever this Keyblader was, and he knew that only he could help right now. Though still somewhat confused, he understood who Shiva was, and what he was meant to do. Holding out his hand, he spoke.

"Shiva, Summon UP!"

Donald suddenly turned around at the call, and his eyes widened at the sight. The boy he'd been so suspicious of before had now been floating in the air in front of him, his clothes suddenly changing into that of an outfit similar to Sora's. However, instead of all black, he has dark blue hints all over his wardrobe, and along with that are blue flames to add a nice touch. With added fingerless gloves and a dark blue mask, he slowly descended, a trickle of ice forming at his feet. Donald stared in awe for a moment, recognizing the outfit.

"That… looks like Sora's Wisdom form!" Donald said, watching as Zexion picked him up and placed him aside.

"Stay here" he said before turning and running into the chaos. Summoner Keyblader and Dark Diablos fell to the ground with exhaustion. They still hadn't gotten a single hit on Nomura, and they were both really tired from the attempts. Nomura laughed squeakily.

"Is that all you've got?" he asked mockingly. "I could do this all day!"

"Unfortunately, you don't get to!"

Nomura suddenly moved out of the way, dodging what looked like an icicle. Looking around suddenly, he realized that the mist had gotten thicker in such a quick amount of time, and the room had become colder. Sora and the Dark Diablos had noticed this as well, and the three of them looked to see a lone figure walking towards them in the mist. Nomura was furious.

"NOW who is it?" Nomura shouted.

"Your worst nightmare" the figure said, shooting another icicle at Nomura, which the creature quickly dodged.

"I've had enough of this!" shouted Nomura, shooting a bolt of magic from his staff. However, the figure quickly moved out of the way before the attack came close. Nomura stared in shock. "I… I missed? That was my fastest shot EVER… WHO ARE YOU?"

As he asked, the mist cleared a little to reveal the boy with white hair and dark blue clothing Both Sora and the Dark Diablos looked to watch the sudden turn of events. The boy jumped from his spot and landed on the ground, which was now covered in ice.

"I am the true Master of Illusion, protected by the goddess of ice. My name is Summoner Shiva!" the boy said. "You think you're fast? I'm as fast as ice"

"Ha, you don't scare me!" Nomura cracked, holding his staff out to attack again.

However before he could, Summoner Shiva quickly jumped out of the way, extending his arms above his head. Nomura, the Dark Diablos, and Sora all watched with awe at his speed. Shiva spun in the air.

"GLACIAL GRASP!" he shouted, motioning his arms towards Nomura, who was not able to avoid the sudden ice that appeared to encase itself over his body with the exception of his arm that held his magical staff. Targeting the weapon, he quickly summoned an icicle in his hands.

"BOREAL BLAST!" he shouted again, as the icicle directly hit the staff, destroying it completely.

"No…! My STAFF!" Nomura shouted, before watching all of the arcade games as they stopped draining energy and fell limp. He shook in anger as he tried to break free of his icy hold. Shiva landed gracefully on the ground, and realizing his ice wouldn't hold the tiny creature for long, he looked at Sora.

"Now, Keyblader!" he shouted, and Sora nodded in understanding. He stood from the frozen ground and jumped toward Nomura, giving the final blow as he slashed through the heartless with his keyblade. Nomura gave one final howl of pain before a heart was released from his shadowy body.

The mist faded, and the ice melted away as Summoner Keyblader ran up to Summoner Shiva, embracing him in gratitude. Donald quickly ran up to the both of them with cheerfulness in his eyes.

"Summoner Shiva! I'm so glad to meet you!" Sora said, letting go of the ice Summoner.

"Nice to meet you, too, Sora" Shiva said, smiling slightly as Sora gasped.

"You- You know?" Sora asked. "Who are you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Shiva asked before removing his mask.

"Zexion!" Sora shouted, embracing the white-haired boy once more. "You're Summoner Shiva!"

"As wonderful a moment as this is, boys, we'd better get out of here" Donald suddenly said, noticing the people in the arcade that were beginning to wake up. Looking for an exit, they took off through the back door of the arcade.

* * *

"Hmm… There's a lot more growing from this one problem than we feared…" Irvine said, watching as the energy he'd supposedly been gaining from Nomura's trip suddenly disappeared.

"Messed up again, huh, Irvine?"

"You be quiet, Rikku. From what I've gathered you're not doing so well in Kyoto, either" Irvine snapped, and Rikku laughed.

"Maybe so, but you forget that I'm not Maleficent's first in command. You are" she smirked. "And how unfortunate would it be that you mess up as many times as for her to… demote you?"

"That's not going to happen!" he shouted, turning to her menacingly. "I'm a lot more loyal to her highness than you or your friends are!"

She giggled again.

"Ah, yes… But loyalty will only excuse you from so many failures, don't you think, Irvy?" she finished, summoning a portal beneath her to sink through. "Ta Ta!"

At this, Irvine pointed his gun and shot at the spot where Rikku disappeared in fury. Though he didn't want to admit it, the girl had been right. Even he knew Maleficent would only allow so many failures before punishing him… Even though her plan to use Nomura's speed had worked against the Keyblader at first, he didn't realize that reinforcements would come to aid his side. Not just the Summoner Shiva, but the Dark Diablos as well…

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Sora shouted. "We actually found a Summoner!"

The day after the predicament at the arcade went down, Sora brought Zexion over to his house. There, Donald had been able to explain the situation to him thoroughly, whereas Zexion was able to explain how he realized his destiny to aid the Keyblader. The white-haired boy held up the keychain and stared at it with disbelief.

"I'm just baffled that the power to save an entire universe and more is compacted into this tiny key…" Zexion said, and he looked at Sora. "So now we're partners, yes?"

Sora nodded eagerly. "Yup! And I'm totally psyched! We have a member of our Summoner team!"

"Yes, but according to you, Donald, there's apparently more than just the two of us, is that right?"

Donald nodded. "My comrade has run into one of them in Kyoto and is taking care of him there until the boy is able to join us here. However, we should take the time before then to begin our search for the rest of them"

"The rest?" Sora asked. "Donald, how many of us are there exactly?"

"It depends. I cannot remember who'd been brought back from the past. Not everyone was reincarnated like the two of you" Donald replied. "I cannot even recall how Zexion even played a part in our past"

"But he must have somehow!" Sora said gladly. "And I'm glad! You really kicked butt out there yesterday!"

"Well, it took a lot of energy" Zexion replied, blushing slightly with embarrassment. "But I'll help with this search. Whatever's going on in town can't be good"

"I agree" Donald replied, sighing with relief. "It's so good to have someone who understands my worries"

"Hey, I understand the danger, too , Donald!" Sora pouted. "I'm just not as worried about it as you are"

"Speaking of worries" Zexion started, bringing out a book. "I've noticed your grades are completely unsatisfying. If we are going to be saving the world from here on, our time schedules have become completely hectic. We must double our studying time in order to make up"

At this, Sora dropped his jaw. "WHAT?"

"I'm going to suggest we have studying meetings at least five days a week, preferably on school days as I'd like some time on the weekends to read. However many hours we spend on saving the world will be doubled in our studying time to catch up on what we miss" Zexion explained, opening a book to begin working, and slamming a book in front of Sora. "Let's get to work"

"But… But…!" Sora began.

"No time for 'buts'. Get working" Zexion said coldly, and realizing that Donald wasn't going to help him, Sora sighed, and began reading his math book reluctantly.

Donald had to admit that though something caused him to feel uneasy about Zexion before, he sure was glad to have him on their team now that he was getting Sora to finally buckle down on his schoolwork.

* * *

_It's sure great to finally be working with another Summoner, despite the annoying work sessions I have to go through now. Maybe this scary new girl at Selphie's school will save me from Zexion's study meetings! Too bad the bad guys have something else planned for us instead! Will Zexion and I be enough to take on this heartless? Or will lightning strike us both?_

Next time on Summoner Keyblader- **Shocking Turn! Summoner Quezacotl's A Girl?**


	4. Summoner Quezacotl's a Girl?

Disclaimer: Seriously, if I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would've made Demyx an important character in the storyline and he wouldn't have died.

* * *

**Shocking Turn! Summoner Quezacotl's a Girl!**

Selphie Tsukino ran as fast as she could through the crowd of people that occupied the sidewalks of the Diamond Academy for Girls. Panting, she rushed through, politely excusing herself should she have accidentally run into anyone else. Making sure not to look back, she quickly turned towards her home, before completely running someone over into the concrete path.

"Selphie! What're you DOING?" Sora shouted, rubbing his head from the impact it had on the ground.

Roxas and Tidus both watched the chaos ensue with chuckles as the two stood from the ground. They weren't exactly sure what got the girl so worked up, but they knew they'd find out anyway. Not that it mattered, since Tidus would've asked later. Selphie immediately took her first look behind her and gasped, grabbing the three of them and dragging them inside.

"Selphie-!" Sora shouted, rubbing his sore arm as the girl locked their front door in a matter of seconds. She quickly covered his mouth, shushing him.

"Shut up!" she whispered, peeking out of their window cautiously.

The three boys looked at her questionably, before directing their attention outside. Out from around the corner, the three boys watched as a pretty blonde girl walked past their home, her short hair leaving two strands sticking up like antennae. Her green eyes seemed to sparkle as they focused on the road ahead of her. She walked gracefully and poised, and the three boys couldn't help but stare at her as she passed by. However, Selphie watched with fear.

"Is THAT what you were running in fear from?" Roxas asked, staring at the blonde girl as though he'd seen him somewhere before. Tidus couldn't help but stare as well.

"She's pretty, and looks harmless!" Tidus noted, and Selphie gasped, covering his mouth.

"DON'T say that!" she practically shouted. "She's NOT harmless! She's psychotic!"

The three boys looked at her in confusion. She sighed, rubbing her temples. How her brother became a high school student she would never know. Not that she could blame him or his friends for not knowing what went on in an All-Girls' school.

"Look, she's new. Larxene Hino is her name, and she's SCARY!" Selphie said, shivering. "She HATES males! Apparently she was kicked out of her public school in Kyoto because a guy tried asking her out and she nearly KILLED him!"

"THAT girl nearly killed someone?" Sora asked, staring as the girl turned a corner.

"She's crazy I tell you! No one goes near her!" Selphie said, relaxing a little as Larxene left their sight.

"I find it hard to believe. She looks so sweet" Tidus said.

"It's weird, but… I can imagine her being hostile" Roxas said. "Though I do admit that she's pretty"

"I can, too, but…" started Sora. "She kinda looked… Sad…"

* * *

"A new girl at Selphie's school?" asked Zexion, typing on his laptop.

"Yeah, and it's weird, but somehow, she seems familiar" Sora noted, trying to not have to look at his math homework. "Speaking of, Zex, when did you start wearing glasses?"

The two boys were inside of Sora's room, where homework was top priority for both Zexion and Donald at the moment. Sora, however, could not get his mind off the earlier events of the day with Selphie. This Larxene girl that everyone seemed afraid of was really tugging at his focus for the time being, and not even Zexion's obsession with homework and high grades could get Sora's attention. Realizing this, Zexion eventually had decided to let Sora off and finish his own homework, while at the same time, listening to Sora's story.

"I wear glasses when doing homework or reading. I'd forgotten them the day we met" Zexion answered, taking them off for a second to clean them. "Now, I'm actually curious about this myself. What exactly did this girl look like?"

"Why? You interested?" Sora said, batting his eyebrows at Zexion teasingly.

"You're already aware of my sexuality" Zexion replied, but his expression turned serious. "But something is rather nostalgic to me about a hostile blonde female…"

"Well… Blonde, green eyes, kinda tall… Not taller than you, of course" Sora added, noticing the look Zexion was giving him. "She also had these strands of hair that… looked like a bug's… hair-like thingys…"

"Antennae?" Zexion corrected. Sora nodded. "Hmm…"

"Something up?" Donald asked, noticing Zexion's expression.

He couldn't really put his finger on it, but this girl gave him a slight chill in his spine. He hadn't even seen the girl for himself, yet, but her description sounds all too familiar to him. What was strange was that he'd never met a girl that fit the description Sora gave him before. It seemed like déjà vu, similar to the feeling that he had when he first became the Summoner Shiva… He also had this feeling when…

"Zexion?"

"Huh?" Zexion said, snapping out of his thoughts as Sora and Donald stared at him.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Sora asked, patting his shoulder.

"Oh, it's nothing important, but… The description you give me is giving me a feeling of déjà vu, similar to that of when I met your friends, Riku and Roxas"

Sora and Donald looked at Zexion with curiosity plastered on their faces. Did that mean this girl they spoke of was someone from their past? Could she be important to their mission? Donald's expression turned as serious as Zexion's. No matter what the case was, it was his job to investigate anything suspicious, and if both Sora and Zexion were getting this sort of feeling from the girl, then maybe it really was something important.

"It sounds as though we should confront this girl" Donald said.

* * *

In the dark realm, Maleficent's evil aura spread amongst her and her followers, only leaving room for her apprentices to appear. Irvine was sweating nervously, but trying his hardest not to show it as he bowed to her in respect. Maleficent's expression hadn't changed in the slightest.

"Irvine… I'm growing weary of your failures… Are you going to gather ANY energy to open the door to darkness or not?" she asked.

Irvine stayed within his position, not daring to look into the eyes of his ruler.

"I will make sure that the energy brought towards our goal will be by MY hand, my Queen… I promise you that" he said, before leaving to begin his new plans.

Maleficent's expression remained emotionless, before saying one more thing to no one in particular.

"Yes… However, promises only mean so much here in the dark realm…"

* * *

"There she is"

Sora said, pointing as they waited across the street to see the thin blonde girl walking passed Sora's home just as she did the day before. Selphie had already resolved to staying at school and waiting until 3 'o' clock, which was apparently when the girl always got home. Zexion's intuition was right. There was something strange about this girl he and Sora were currently following.

"She seems harmless!" Donald noted, but Zexion's expression hadn't wavered.

"She's definitely not harmless" he replied, and the two looked at him strangely. "Let's follow her"

He immediately walked ahead, leaving Sora and Donald bewildered as they chased after their friend. Considering how she was walking and how frail she was, the three of them noted that she was really FAST! Sora, Zexion, AND Donald were getting tired just from tailing her! However, they were able to follow her until she reached a crosswalk. As she walked towards the stoplight, the people who'd been previously standing there all noticed her approach and backed away from the girl slowly. Sora seemed to have noticed this.

'_Even adults seem to fear her…?_' he thought sadly as they got closer to her.

The light changed, allowing passerby's to walk across the streets. The girl instantly started moving, unaware of the three that were currently following her. The three ran across the street, making sure to stay close to her without being noticed. They eventually followed her towards a shrine with many stairs leading up to it.

"A shrine?" Zexion noted, watching as she took up the stairs.

"Hey, you"

The three jumped in fright as three teenagers that looked a little older than them approached. They looked rather scary, one of them being extremely buff whilst the girl looked somewhat similar to Zexion. The leader of their group seemed to have been the guy with the beanie, who held a large Struggle bat in his hand.

"I've seen you at school before" the leader said, pointing to the three of them. He then noticed Donald. "What's with the duck? You losers have no one else to be friends with?"

"Y-You're Seifer, aren't you?" Sora stuttered, and they all laughed in reply.

"Well, who else?" Seifer spat. "You're that kid who gets to school late all the time, aren't you?"

"Seifer?" Zexion asked. "You mean student number 3024, the delinquent who was suspended from school the other day?"

"HEY, SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Seifer shouted, grabbing Zexion's collar and lifting him up off the ground. "Tch, smart kids like you outta know never to mess with me!"

"Seifer's the best! You mess with him, and you're dead!" The big guy, Rai, said.

"DEAD" was all Fuu, the girl with them, said. Seifer laughed.

"Hey, guys, we never really introduced ourselves to this geek" Seifer said, holding the bat up. "Maybe it's time we showed him who we are"

Zexion's face became pale, fearing these kind of encounters with bullies. Sora became just as pale, and tried getting to Zexion. However, Seifer's followers, Fuu and Rai, both held him back as Seifer raised his bat. They both struggled as much as they could, Donald trying his hardest to do something in order to help. Their attempts were all futile.

"Hey, dirtbags!"

Everyone froze, looking towards the steps of the shrine, where the girl had apparently walked down. Seifer and Rai both looked at each other before laughing their heads off. Fuu merely chuckled at the sight that this girl who looked younger than all three of them was standing there all cocky looking. Larxene didn't seem to falter at any of their actions.

"Oh, look here, guys! This little girl's telling us to back off her boyfriends!" Seifer teased, dropping Zexion on the ground. Even Rai and Fuu let go of Sora as they couldn't contain their laughter (or chuckling in Fuu's case).

"This shrine is sacred. Leave if you know what's good for you" Larxene warned, her big green eyes staring intently towards the three. However, this didn't affect Seifer and his gang in the least.

"Oooh, and what're YOU gonna do if we DON'T, little Ms. Blonde?" Rai mocked.

Sora and Zexion watched this scene unfold, and were starting to get somewhat worried. This girl was taking on three older kids on her own? Zexion was never really one for violence (aside from being Summoner Shiva), and knew his lack of strength would be of no use. However, Sora had a different approach to this.

"Hey, just back off and leave her alone!"

Sora stood up to them, surprising everyone around them. Seifer and his gang all looked at him with shock, along with Zexion and Donald, who weren't sure what exactly was going through this Sora's head at the moment. Larxene looked at Sora with a raised eyebrow, before Seifer and his gang started rounding up and the two of them again.

"I guess Shorty here wants a piece of us first!" Seifer said, but before he could even get close to Sora, he instantly tripped, falling face first into the concrete.

Everyone froze. Looking back and forth at the scene, they all realized that Seifer was on the ground, with Larxene's foot next to his feet. Seifer stood up, ignoring the big gash on his face and turned on the blonde, seething with rage.

"ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF ME?" he shouted, throwing a punch at the girl.

However, his arm was caught in her grip, which surprisingly to Seifer was rather strong. Larxene smirked, her green eyes sparkling with a deadly expression. Fuu and Rai were frozen in their places with fear. This little blonde girl, who was at least one year younger than they was holding back one of Seifer's infamous punches without even a drop of sweat forming on her forehead!

"Please, you're making fun of me just by thinking you've got any chance against me!" Larxene said, venom dripping from her lips with every word said. "You're just like my ex"

Within seconds, Larxene quickly took hold of Seifer and threw him against the concrete wall next to them, his head going first and leaving a huge crater. Fuu and Rai were paralyzed at what they just saw, along with Sora and Zexion. Donald merely marveled at the amazing strength this girl seemed to show. The next thing they knew, Seifer was being held up in the air by his collar, just as Zexion had been just a couple minutes ago.

"You know, I really hate boys" she said, before punching him in the gut with no mercy. "They're nothing but scum"

Following this, she felt satisfied and kicked the leader into his two companions, who were knocked over at the impact. Sora and Zexion watched the girl's actions in awe as the group that had been previously bullying them immediately stood and ran from the area.

"AND DON'T COME BACK, LOSERS!" she shouted after them, immediately taking notice of the two boys and duck that were on the ground next to her.

"Wow… That was amazing!" Sora said, clapping. Larxene snarled.

"Get outta here. You two are the reason the trouble began in the first place!" she shrieked, before turning on her heel and walking off back up the stairs. Zexion and Sora both looked at each other before grabbing Donald and standing. However, before anything else could be said, an old man who'd been standing at the entrance to the shrine had called out.

"Larxene? Honey, I heard noise. Is something the matter?" the old man called.

"Nothing, Gramps. Just a couple of jerks again" Larxene answered, walking passed her grandfather. The old man immediately took notice of the three that had been standing towards the bottom of the stairs and smiled gently.

"Oh? Are these your friends, Larxene?" asked her grandfather, and Larxene snorted.

"No, just a couple of troublemakers!" she shouted in reply. Her grandfather seemed to disagree.

"Oh, hush, dear! They seem like good fellows!" her grandfather scolded. "Please! You two! Come up and join us for supper!"

Sora, Donald, and Zexion looked at each other for a minute. It was getting late after all, and they were rather hungry after their ordeal. However, Larxene didn't seem too fond of either of them, and they weren't sure if they should or not. The old man only chuckled in reply.

"Oh don't worry! My granddaughter's a feisty one, but she won't hurt you two when I'm around!" he said, kindly. Larxene snorted in reply, before walking to her room. Realizing that this would be a good chance to find out more about Larxene and whether or not she had any part in their mission, they nodded, following the old man up the stairs and into their home.

* * *

"Hey, Irvine! What've you been working on?" asked Rikku, appearing through a dark portal in the ground.

Irvine, who had been looking through a crystal ball, had looked to see her slim form floating in mid-air. He rolled his eyes before turning his attention back towards the ball, which showed him a shrine. Rikku looked at the ball with curiosity.

"Oh? Is this place your new target? Seems kinda boring to me!" said Rikku, yawning.

"It may seem so, but in reality, this place is highly popular during the night of the Lantern Sky Festival" Irvine replied. "THAT is when I'll make my appearance"

Rikku looked at him.

"Lantern Sky Festival?"

* * *

"Oh, so this shrine is where the Lantern Sky Festival is held" Zexion noted, taking a bite of his food.

"Eh? Lantern Sky Festival? What's that?" Sora asked. Both Zexion and Larxene looked at Sora as though he'd lied under a rock his whole life. Donald, on the other hand, hadn't seemed to care as he ate food off of Sora's plate. The old man chuckled, before answering.

"Oh, that's alright, son!" her grandfather chuckled. "You're too young to know of such thing anyway!"

"I'm his age" Larxene retorted.

"As am I" Zexion agreed, rubbing his temples. The old man laughed again.

"Anywho! The Lantern Sky Festival is one that only comes to this shrine once a year!" Larxene's grandfather announced. "It's a beautiful ritual that bonds two or more people together forever!"

"Ritual?" Sora asked, taking a bite of his food. Zexion cleared his throat.

"From what I hear, the ritual is that of obtaining a paper lantern from one of the many stands that the festival has. Everyone holds onto their lanterns throughout the festival until midnight, where they all light the lanterns and let them fly in the night sky" Zexion explained.

"So… how does it bond people together?" asked Sora. Larxene answered this time, though gruffly.

"When the lantern is lit, the people gather into their respective groups, whether it's between friends, family, or lovers, and they release their lanterns together. When they do, the lantern carries their wishes to be together up to the heavens above, and it's said that the next morning, when the lanterns are gone, heaven has accepted their wish"

"WOW, that sounds amazing…!" Sora said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"It really is a sight to behold. Now, if my little Larxene would just find a nice young man like you two, maybe she would be able to light a lantern of her own!" her grandfather chuckled, patting his granddaughter's head.

"… I already told you I hate men" Larxene muttered, but not softly enough to avoid her grandfather's ears.

"Now Larxene, do not let your father and ex-boyfriend hold you back from true happiness!" her grandfather scolded, and Larxene stood from her seat, her eyebrows creased together with anger.

"What would YOU know about true happiness? You're an old fart at 89 and running a stupid shrine barely anyone knows about!" she shouted, stomping out of the room before shouting one last thing.

"And my love life is NO concern of YOUR'S!"

Sora and Zexion both looked after her in shock. To speak to your own grandfather the way she did was unspeakable, and yet, the two of them both felt as though there were more to this story than meets the eye. Both of them, along with Donald, looked at the old man with question. Larxene's grandfather hung his head with shame.

"I apologize for my granddaughter's behavior. She's been like this ever since her father walked out on us years ago… And then that boy she had been so fond of a while back…" the grandfather stopped.

"She must've been really attached to both of them" Sora noted, earning looks from Zexion and Donald that warned him to be polite.

"Yes…" her grandfather replied. "Her father used to run this shrine a while back… along with a young lad as his apprentice. Larxene always stayed by their side, never leaving for even a second… Unfortunately, her father left, without any goodbyes, and his apprentice had gone away as well, but not without leaving Larxene's gentle heart in shatters…"

The three looked at the old man with sympathy. Sora realized that Larxene must've felt lonely after her father's betrayal, along with great despair once her boyfriend had left her. Even Zexion realized that must have caused her strong and increasing hostility towards males. Neither of them could relate, as they both were raised under loving and caring families.

"Larxene had moved away from this shrine and city the minute it all happened. She had lived with her mother, who unfortunately died as of last month. It had taken a while for her to move herself back here, but depression and anger soon consumed her heart…" her grandfather said.

At the word 'heart', Donald's attention was caught, along with Sora and Zexion's. Could Larxene's heart be turning evil at the betrayal of her loved ones? It was surely possible. In fact, the three of them looked back and forth from each other to her grandfather, and knew that something needed to be done.

"Is it okay if we speak to Larxene?" Sora asked kindly. Larxene's grandfather looked back at them.

"If there is anything you can do to bring my little Larxene back to the way she used to be, then by all means… I just want to see the sparkle in her eye that she used to have…"

* * *

"Soooo… We're here to taint the lanterns?" Rikku asked, staring at a bunch of paper lanterns that were laying in front of her and Irvine in the middle of a room inside the shrine.

"Not sure why YOU'RE here, but I'm here because these lanterns will steal the energy of those who have them. They won't even be able to stand before it's even 11 at night…" Irvine replied, as he reached his hands out to let the dark energy emitting from them contaminate the purity of the lanterns.

"And should the Keyblader show up…?" asked Rikku.

"Leave him to me. This time, the Keyblader AND the Dark Diablos are both in trouble should they interfere…"

* * *

"What do you want?" Larxene snapped, sitting underneath a lonely cherry blossom tree in back of the shrine.

Sora motioned for Zexion and Donald to wait and let him go alone. Though they didn't think it was a good idea, Sora was already on his way. Swallowing down his nervousness, he walked over to the girl and took a seat next to her, hoping that she wouldn't hurt him. Seeing that she didn't seem to care whether he was there or not, he made himself comfortable before speaking.

"… This is a lovely tree here…" Sora started, and Larxene chuckled lifelessly.

"Yeah, sure… If you call trees that hold bitter memories 'lovely', then call this one 'dazzling'…" she spat. Sora looked at her sympathetically. "… This is the tree we used to sit under when the festival came around…"

"You okay?" he asked, and she glared at him.

"Do I LOOK okay to you?" she practically screamed. However, though Sora had been somewhat frightened of her earlier, he shook his head.

"No… Not in the least" he answered her simply. She glared at him a second longer before turning away.

"Why are you here…?" she asked. Sora shrugged.

"You look like you need someone here with you" Sora replied, looking at the sky. "It must be hard…"

"What would you know…?" she muttered.

"I don't… Which makes me respect you all the more" Sora said, smiling brightly at her. She responded to this action with a raised eyebrow.

"Respect?" she snorted.

"Yeah, I mean… You totally whooped Seifer's gang! And for the sake of me and my friend!" Sora said, motioning towards Zexion, who still had Donald in his arms. "You're a really amazing person, Larxene, despite all that's happened to you!"

"… Tch… They used to say the same…" She replied, emotionlessly.

"… Your father and boyfriend?" Sora asked.

"EX-boyfriend!" she shrieked. "… And that man was no father of mine… It never ceases to amaze me what people live in this rotten world…"

Sora lowered his head. That was something he could understand… His mission to save all the worlds was one of confusion, mystery, and drama. He'd never understand what kind of person would try to destroy the worlds, create the heartless, or take Riku's body… He looked at Larxene, before wrapping an arm around her comfortingly. A punch in the face was her response.

"What the world do you think you're DOING?" she shrieked, confused when all she got was a smile.

"A hug!" Sora replied, rubbing his cheek. "A hug makes a lot of things better, y' know!"

"Look, what are you trying to do here? Are you trying to drive me insane?" she shouted, holding her fist up as a threat. Sora, starting to realize that this wasn't turning out very well, waved his hands in front of himself in defense.

"No, no, no! I just want to be your friend, is all!" he said, watching as Larxene's expression softened slightly.

"… Friend…?" she said as though it were poison. "I don't need one"

"But you do" Sora protested. "You're really lonely on the inside, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" she spat.

"I'm talking about whenever you're out walking and your eyes are always focused on the ground! How your shoulders seem to slouch slightly every time you realize that there are people surrounding you who are backing away slightly… It makes you upset, I realize this, Larxene, but pushing everyone away has made it so that no one wants to be around you anymore!" Sora lectured, noticing the loneliness returning to her big green eyes.

"So why are YOU here, then!" she screamed, punching him in the chest, knocking him into the ground. "Why are you rubbing this all in my face? As if it's MY fault no one wants to be around me?"

"… Because I'm your friend, Larxene…" Sora said, looking into her eyes, despite the pain that ached on his chest from her punch. "And friends tell each other what they need to hear…"

She stared into his eyes, which had been all too sincere. Too innocent. Somehow, everything seemed all too familiar to her. This Sora kid, the boy who was with him, even the duck. They were all here, and they were driving her insane. Whoever they were, she wanted to believe what they were here for, but in the end… She just wanted to be left alone… She stood from her spot underneath the tree and walked back towards the shrine.

"Larxene!" Sora called once again, stopping her. "I'm here… If you need someone to listen to you, just… let me know…"

Larxene stood in her spot, contemplating his words carefully. However, she could feel that tears were forming in her emerald-green eyes, and continued to walk away to her room, leaving no reply for them. Zexion and Donald ran over to Sora to help him off the ground. He was in a lot of pain from the power of her punch, but he hadn't cared. Larxene was in pain, and he knew how easily the darkness could capture a person's heart… Even if she wasn't important to their mission, he knew that he wanted to help her- to be her friend…

… He wanted to make sure she didn't lose her light…

* * *

The next day, Sora, Zexion, and Donald all walked along the sidewalk together. Tonight was the Lantern Sky Festival, and despite Donald's protests about needing to continue their search for the other Summoners, they decided to check up on Larxene again. Besides, Selphie, Tidus, and Roxas were already there having fun, so they figured they'd go as well.

When they arrived, they were surprised to find that the shrine was a lot more crowded than they thought it'd be. There were people all over playing games and eating food, carrying the pure white lanterns along with them everywhere they went. Everyone's happy and smiling faces were enough to lift anyone's mood.

… All except for Larxene's…

"Hey, look, there's Larxene!" Sora pointed out.

Surprisingly, the blonde-haired girl was wearing a yellow kimono with cherry blossoms decorating her attire. A single clip had been placed in her hair, and she gracefully walked around, getting the attention of many men around her, along with many jealous women. The two boys were so caught up with staring at her apparent beauty that they didn't notice someone coming up behind them.

"She looks amazing tonight, doesn't she?"

At this, the two looked to see a boy their age next to them. His pink hair and yukata almost sparkled within the lighting of the festival, and Sora noted that he was rather feminine for a boy. Especially when he flipped his hair and delicately held flowers the way he did. The boy laughed and patted their backs.

"You must be Sora and Zexion" he said. "My name is Marluxia, apprentice to the amazing owner of this shrine! He's talked about you two boys a lot"

The two boys looked at him questionably.

"Larxene's grandfather" he said, and Sora made an 'oh' face. "Yes, that Larxene can be very rough at times, but when it comes to the well-being of this shrine, she'll do whatever it takes to make sure that people return every year to pay their respects"

Sora watched her move gracefully and smile at the people who passed by her. It was a strange sight to see, considering their talk the night before… He looked back at Marluxia, who noticed his confusion, and laughed.

"Yes, strange, isn't it? You know of her attitude and personality, yet, you see her here before you like she's a Goddess… She's definitely beautiful like one…" Marluxia said, watching her with a light in his eyes that Sora recognized anywhere.

"You LIKE her, don't you?" he teased, giggling as Marluxia turned red and jumped in embarrassment.

"Don't speak so LIGHTLY of these feelings!" Marluxia whispered, covering Sora's mouth. "What I feel for her is nothing that she can learn of!"

Zexion raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you say that?" he asked. Marluxia blushed again, before clearing his throat.

"Larxene isn't interested in men…" He said.

"She's a lesbian?" Sora asked, and Marluxia pulled off an anime fall.

"NO!" he shouted. "She's… just not too fond of men right now. You already know this, as I've been told"

"Oh, that. I wouldn't worry about it too much" Sora said, smiling. Marluxia raised an eyebrow.

"Sora…" Zexion said, looking at the boy as though he'd promised world peace.

"Larxene's a strong girl!" Sora said with a smile. "She'll get over her darkness and take to you eventually, too!"

Marluxia could only sigh at this. The hope that radiated from this boy was rather contagious, even Zexion felt it. Donald, however, never took his eyes off of Larxene for a second. Whatever was going on about this girl seemed all too suspicious to leave alone. She was definitely a part of their mission in some way or form, but he couldn't be too sure… Suddenly, Marluxia took a look at them and smiled.

"Hey, we should get you two a lantern!" Marluzia said with excitement. "You can't be here without a lantern! It's almost depressing!"

"Hey, but… we don't have anyone to…" Zexion started, looking at all the people who were in couples or had family members with them.

"Of course, we do, Zex!" Sora said, "We've got each other! We're friends, right?"

Zexion looked at Sora before cracking a light smile, and nodding. Marluxia could only laugh at the humorous scene of the two friends as they approached a stand that sold the lanterns. Sora couldn't help but bounce with excitement as they'd finally reached the front of the line.

"One lantern please!" Sora said happily, not noticing who'd been working the stand.

"Here you- Oh…"

At that reaction, Sora looked and gasped. Riku had been working the stand, and their eyes locked onto each others as Riku held out a lantern for the brunette. Sora's heart tugged at him with longing, as he'd been so preoccupied with his duties as the Summoner Keyblader and schoolwork (thanks to Zexion) that he hadn't thought much about the white haired angel before him. He longed to just be held by those glistening muscles he remembers so well… They stared at each other for what seemed like forever, before Zexion cleared his throat.

"Sora, there's a line behind us…" Zexion noted, ashamed that he ended such a nice moment.

"Ah, right!" he said, grabbing the lantern and paying Riku, before leaving the stand with a light blush on his face. Marluxia noticed this fluster within the boy and giggled.

"Was that your boyfriend or something?" Marluxia asked. Sora turned completely red at this.

"W-Well… Umm…" he stammered.

"We're working on it" Zexion replied, smirking as Sora gave him a glare.

Neither of them realized that Riku had continued watching them. There was something about the brown-haired boy that attracted his attention since they first met at the arcade. He knew that he wanted to speak to the boy more, but his friend's appearance made things rather awkward between them. It still does, but Riku eventually brushed off their meeting as some kind of chill. The Zexion guy didn't seem to be as bad as he originally thought anyway.

"Hey, could one of you cover me for a sec?" Riku asked one of the workers behind him before running over to approach Sora and his friends.

He hadn't noticed, but the two who had also been working the stand sniggered evilly, as one of them wore a cowboy hat and the other hid their face under their hood. Irvine chuckled as he watched all of the people who had a lantern laugh and smile.

"Yes… Keep up the energy, people… It'll only make it all the more worthwhile when Tourou takes it all away…"

* * *

Larxene walked around the festival, greeting everyone politely and respectfully, despite her inner thoughts wishing death upon them as she walked past them. She really hated this festival. It reminded her of when she actually had a boyfriend and father… As she walked she looked noticed she was being pecked on her leg, and looked to see a white duck with a hat on its head.

"Hey… You're that duck from last night…" she noted, picking him up gently. "Where's your owner?"

Donald said nothing as he looked at her intently, something sticking out of his mouth. Looking closer, Larxene realized that what he'd been holding was some kind of key. Sticking her hand underneath his mouth, the duck gently dropped what looked like a tiny purple key. Immediately, he jumped out of Larxene's arms and ran back to find Sora and the others.

"H-Hey, wait!" she called after him.

"Look, she even scared away a poor duck…"

Larxene froze, listening to the words that the people around her spoke.

"… She may be pretty, but she's still scary on the inside…"

"… She scares even defenseless animals…"

"… I'm glad she doesn't go to my school…"

The harsh comments continued. They all thought she couldn't hear them, but the truth was that she could, and she wished she couldn't. She hadn't noticed that the key clutched in her hands was beginning to glow slightly as she held back the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. Ignoring them as best as she could, Larxene continued on with the festival. She continued holding onto the key until she possibly found Sora or Zexion to return it to them.

* * *

"Hey, Marluxia, you don't have a lantern?" Sora noted, and the pink haired boy became flustered as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Well…" he started, pulling out a decorated lantern that was yellow and decorated with flowers. Looking closely, both Zexion and Sora realized that it looked similar to that of Larxene's kimono. "I made it a long time ago, hoping that we would be able to light it together this year… Unfortunately…"

"I get it…" Sora said, watching the boy with a saddened expression.

"Excuse me"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Sora froze, before turning to look into a pair of blue green eyes that were almost covered by pure white bangs. Riku was standing before his friends, looking at Sora with a gentleness in his eyes that Sora hadn't seen in what felt like ages. If Sora could choose to just stay like this and be with Riku, then he would without a doubt do so. How he longed to just be with the boy like he used to…

"Y-Yes?" Sora stuttered, trying to avoid being nervous around the boy who he used to consider his best friend and lover.

"I… was hoping we could walk together… and look around the festival" Riku said, trying to hide his nervousness from the big blue eyes of the brunette in front of him. Sora hadn't seemed to care, and slowly nodded, before cracking a smile.

Zexion and Marluxia couldn't help but smile at this wonderful scene. Watching without disturbing, they saw Sora and Riku walk side by side into the crowd of people that surrounded them. Marluxia turned to Zexion, who seemed to watch after Sora and Riku with a soft smile.

"And what about you?" Marluxia smirked. "Where's YOUR knight in shining armor?"

Zexion smirked.

"I am the knight in shining armor in MY relationship…" However, Zexion paused. Why had he blurted out such a thing? He wasn't in a relationship at the time being. His head suddenly ached a bit as a small memory seemed to have arisen in his mind…

"_So, Zexy, I'm the knight in shining armor for this story, right?"_

"_I am the knight in shining armor in THIS relationship…"_

"Hello?" Marluxia called out, waving a hand in front of Zexion's face.

"Huh?" Zexion asked, looking at the boy like he'd just realized his presence.

"You kinda dozing off there, Zex?" Marluxia asked.

"Uhh… I apologize…" Zexion said, before watching as Sora smiled with Riku at his side. '_Was I… in love with someone in the past…?_'

* * *

"… So…" started Sora as he and Riku walked together.

"… Yeah…" Riku replied, trying to think of something to start the conversation with. However, he wasn't able to think of anything at the moment. Sora looked at him out of the corner of his eye, and blushed, realizing that he hadn't been this close to the boy since he fell in front of the arcade.

"Nice night, isn't it?" asked Sora, smiling brightly at the taller teen.

"Yeah, it is…" Riku said, returning the smile. "You're Sora, right?"

"Y-Yeah" Sora said, smiling at the fact that Riku remembered him. "You remembered my name…"

"Yeah, Wakka talks a lot about you. Says you go to the arcade a lot…" Riku said, chuckling as Sora's face fell a little, disappointed that Riku only remembered him from their meeting at the arcade. "But… There's something else about you, Sora…"

"Huh?"

"I feel like…" Riku started. "Don't think me weird because of this, but… I feel like I've met you before that time at the arcade…"

Sora couldn't help but blush a little at this. Was Riku seriously beginning to remember him? Was Riku beginning to remember all the time they spent together? Was he remembering the times they sword-played together as children? Or the times they spent looking for their friend Kairi…? Or when they kissed and hugged…? Sora's memory was in pieces, but maybe Riku's memory was just as so.

"I… feel the same" Sora replied, somewhat lying. He KNEW that Riku and him had met before the arcade. He knew a lot more about Riku than the boy thought he did.

Riku looked back at Sora, and somehow there was an intensity in the air that couldn't be matched by anything else in the world. Neither of them noticed that they were both slowly leaning in towards each other, not caring about the people around them. They couldn't hear the music, the people's voice, and not even the laughter of children. All they could hear was their heartbeats, pounding endlessly in their chests as they were merely inches apart…

"HEEEELP!"

The two broke apart immediately as a cry for help rang through the air. A monster suddenly appeared, and it looked as though its body were created from paper. Its head was round, but covered in what looked like one of the paper lanterns that everyone had been carrying. The rest of its body seemed to light up from the inside, and altogether it looked like a giant lantern. As it glowed, the lanterns in everyone's hands began to glow as well, but the holders and the people around them began feeling weak.

"Tidus!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, Sora found Selphie, Tidus, and Roxas falling to the ground, weak from losing energy. Along with them were the rest of the citizens around them, slowly but one by one falling to their knees with exhaustion. The sight was almost too much to take in. This festival was supposed to bind people together, but for such a thing to happen was just awful in Sora's opinion…

"Something's up!" shouted Riku, grabbing hold of Sora. "You get out of here! I gotta stop this!"

"What? Riku, what can you- Riku!" Sora shouted, but Riku was already running towards the monster. "RIKU!"

"Sora!"

Sora looked to see Donald running to him.

"Sora, Zexion's in trouble!" he shouted, and Sora paled.

"Zexion!" he said, not wasting time in running back to find his lilac-haired friend.

Zexion was starting to feel weak, but he couldn't figure out why. His body energy was leaving him, and though he attempted to stay up he couldn't. He began lowering himself to the ground, unable to keep on his feet. He was feeling tired. Screams were heard all around him, along with the roar of a monster. He needed to fight.

"Zexion!" Sora shouted, running to aid his falling friend. "Zexion, what's wrong!"

"Sora…" Zexion started weakly. "My body… I'm feeling weak…"

"Weak…?" Sora started.

"It's a heartless!" Donald said. "That lantern monster's got the heartless insignia on its back!"

"Lantern…?" Zexion said, before looking at his hands. The lantern in his hands was glowing slightly, and when he looked around, he realized that everyone else had a lantern as well.

"What's going on with the people?" Sora asked, still holding onto Zexion.

"The lanterns…" Zexion answered. "They're… stealing people's energy…"

"WHAT?" Sora shouted.

"ARGH!"

Sora turned around to find that the lantern monster causing havoc in the festival had just whacked Riku into a couple of bushes. Sora paled as he watched the love of his life get hurt, and looked around at all the people who were still clutching the lanterns…

"I… can't let go… My hands won't let me!" Zexion cried, trying to pry his hand away from the lantern he held.

"Sora, you gotta do something!" shouted Donald.

"… This festival was supposed to be fun…"

Donald looked at him blankly. There was a look in Sora's eyes that he'd never seen before, and it sent a chill down his spine. Sora's eyes looked dark… and scary… There was a fury in his eyes that couldn't be matched. Sora stood, looking to see that no one else was awake.

"I won't forgive anyone who would even THINK to ruin such a glorious event…!"

With that, he raised his arm out.

"I am here to bring peace to our worlds! Keyblade, summon UP!"

* * *

"Wonderful work, Tourou" Irvine said. "Not a single soul is awake"

"What is going on!"

With that, Irvine turned to see a blonde girl in a yellow kimono. Seeing the rage in her eyes, Irvine couldn't help but laugh at the pitiful scene.

"Look, here, Tourou! This little girl doesn't have a lantern" Irvine said. "I guess you'll have to take care of her yourself"

"TOOOUUUROOUUU!" the monstrous lantern shrieked.

"HOLD IT!"

At this, everyone froze, and looked for the source of the voice. What they all found was a lone figure standing on top of the roof of the shrine, the lanterns and moonlight being the only source of light allowing them to see who had interrupted them. Irvine smirked.

"Well, if it isn't you again…" he said.

"This festival is meant to be a place where love blossoms and togetherness is celebrated and wished upon! Those who cause chaos to this happy event will NOT be tolerated!"

"Who is…?" started Larxene.

"I am Summoner Keyblader!" the Sora announced, jumping from the rooftop and landing gracefully on the ground. "I bring peace to the worlds around, and stop those who sabotage it!"

"Keyblader…?" Larxene questioned, but before anything else could happen, she was suddenly grabbed by Tourou and was being held by her neck. "Agh!"

"L-Larxene!" Sora shouted.

"Listen here, Keyblader" Irvine started. "If you really are here to protect the worlds, then you won't mind if we take the energy of these people in exchange for this girl's safety"

"What!" he shouted.

"As a hero, it's only natural that you protect _everyone_ correct?" Irvine asked. "Sit tight, or this girl's heart joins the darkness!"

"No…" said Sora, speechless.

What was he to do? All these people- their energy was being stolen, but if Sora did anything Larxene would be in danger. If Sora didn't do anything soon, however, everyone at the festival wouldn't last much longer. Selphie, Tidus, Roxas, Marluxia, Zexion, RIKU…

"Let my granddaughter go!"

Everyone looked to see the old man again, sword in hand. His eyes were filled with a serious anger directed towards the monster who held his granddaughter hostage in its grasp. Larxene watched as her grandfather stood up to a monster she knew he wouldn't be able to take on alone.

"What're you CRAZY?" she shrieked. "Get outta here, old man!"

"No, Larxene" her grandfather said firmly. "This trash is ruining the peace and serenity of this shrine… I will NOT allow this madness to continue!"

With that, the old man charged the monster, and in a panic the monster released Larxene and jumped out of the way. Larxene fell to the ground, and her grandfather stood in front of her protectively. She looked up to watch as her grandfather stood face to face with a creature that threatened to kill her…

"Old man…" she started.

"What're you weak? Get up and get out of here, Larxene!" he scolded her.

"Both of you, get out of here!" Sora shouted, standing in front of both of them. "I can handle this!"

"Keyblader…" the old man started before nodding. He quickly helped Larxene up and attempted to get her away.

"TOOOUUURROOOUU!" Tourou roared, before a huge beam of light was shot, crashing into all of them and sending them in the air.

They all screamed in pain as they hit the ground. Larxene and her grandfather both cringed in pain, but the old man was unable to move. Sora winced, but stood his ground. He needed to fight. The sake of everyone here depended on him. As he watched this scene unfold before him, Irvine laughed.

"I noticed that you're missing some party members, Keyblader" Irvine mocked. "They must've been holding onto one of my many lanterns!"

"S…Shut up…" Sora growled, remembering that Zexion was still losing energy.

"I'm sure it's hard, fighting me with just yourself this time, no Summoner Shiva or Dark Diablos to help you!" he laughed. "I think I'm done here. Tourou, get rid of these pests and meet me back at headquarters!"

With that, Irvine disappeared into a dark portal, leaving the monster and the Keyblader to do battle. Larxene crawled over to her grandfather, placing her hand on his. She tried moving him, shaking him, whatever would wake him up. No avail. The old man was unconscious…

"Larxene!"

She heard a voice, and looked to see her grandfather's apprentice Marluxia as he took her into his arms. He looked concerned, and she looked at her grandfather.

"The old man…" she grunted. Marluxia looked him over.

"He's unconscious, but he'll be alright with rest" Marluxia said, looking her over. "Are you alright?"

" … What?" she asked, looking at him as though he were crazy.

"Are you alright, Larxene?" Marluxia asked again, making sure she wasn't injured too badly.

Larxene only stared at him. She wasn't used to this. It's been what seemed like forever since someone really cared about her . The only other people who really showed this type of concern for her was once her father, her ex-boyfriend… and Sora…

"Why are you… helping me…?" she grunted, trying to get up. Marluxia looked at her.

"… Because…" he started.

"TOOOUUROOUUU!"

At the sudden roar, they both noticed that another beam of light was shooting at them from Tourou, and in a matter of seconds, Marluxia stood in front of both Larxene and her grandfather, taking the hit. Larxene could only watch this questionable act as Marluxia's scream of agony rang throughout the empty shrine. Sora and Donald's eyes were wide as the pink-haired boy fell to the ground in pain. Her body suddenly felt numb, but Larxene crawled over to the boy that just saved her and her grandfather's life…

"… W-Why…?" she stuttered, watching as Marluxia grunted.

"… Because… I… am your… _friend_…"

That was all he said before he became unconscious. Larxene almost did a double take. Those were the exact words she heard from Sora the night before. She wasn't exactly sure what just happened. All her life she was sure that men were scum, that her father and ex-boyfriend were just another part of the species that caused her pain… But then to watch as the two men she'd known for a long time… risked their lives for her own… She couldn't explain this feeling that ripped through her body. All she knew was that… she was ANGRY…

"… They may be men… but they did NOT deserve this…!" Larxene growled, watching with tears in her eyes as Summoner Keyblader continued to fight Tourou, losing the fight.

Suddenly, without any warning, a single Q beamed across her forehead like a lightning bolt. As Donald tore his eyes away from the battle between Sora and Tourou, he noticed the insignia and his face dropped.

"I knew it! Larxene! The key!" Donald shouted to her, and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Y- You talked!" she practically shrieked.

"I'll explain later, but for now use the key I gave you!" he shouted. "You are one of the summoners we've been looking for! You are the summoner of _lightning_! You are Summoner Quezacotl!"

"Lightning…?" she asked, holding the key in her hands.

Suddenly, without any warning, she suddenly found herself in a strange white room, with nothing or no one familiar around her. Her grandfather, Marluxia, the monster, the duck, and the Keyblader were all gone. Whatever was happening was truly starting to freak her out… Then a lone figure appeared in front of her. A female figure in a dark cloak stood in front of her and took her hood down. To Larxene's surprise, it was a woman who looked identical to her. The only difference was that this woman looked a little older…

_Don't give me that look, brat_

At that, she glared at her identical self, and was about to protest, but instead, the figure reached her hand out to her. She glared in response, and at first refused to take her hand. The figure rolled her eyes.

_Look, you have important people out there who risked their lives for you and now they're in danger. Are you gonna be a little brat and leave them hanging or are you gonna help out?_

"They're… male…" she started. Her older image sighed.

_So what? You had a little male trouble, oh boo hoo! This may surprise you, but not all men are as bad as those who hurt you before… I learned that myself… _

"And you are…?" Larxene spat.

_Take my freaking hand and you'll find out! _

Though she was still hesitant, Larxene knew that she couldn't leave all those people who came to the shrine every year down. She couldn't let her grandfather's hard work go to waste, or his attempts to save her. The same could be said about Marluxia… All she ever really did was bully him when they were younger, and he suddenly chose to saev her life without hesitance… She should do the same. She grabbed her other's hand with confidence.

_Now THAT'S the girl I remember being!_

In a matter of seconds, Larxene felt power surging into her body like electricity. She suddenly felt a whole lot tougher than before. Feelings and pieces of her memory were returning to her, and she looked to see her older figure wink at her before fading out of her vision. The next thing she knew, Larxene was at the shrine again, where the Keyblader was losing badly against Tourou. She was still confused about what had just happened, but she knew she had a duty to attend to. She had to help the Keyblader. Looking at the key in her hand, she held it up.

"Quezacotl, summon UP!" shouted Larxene.

Donald watched as her entire body sparked with light as her clothes dissipated and transformed into something new. She transformed into that of a yellow strapless mini dress with two decorative zippers and one zipper in the middle. Underneath this dress she wore a white halter top with a black hood. She also wore a black belt with two suspenders that lay loosely at her sides. On her feet was a pair of yellow converse shoes. The key she held grew into a keyblade, which was purple and black.

"Your outfit reminds me of Sora's friend Kairi…" Donald noted, and Larxene blinked.

"Sora?" she asked.

"Now's not the time! Help him! Use your keyblade- the Pain of Solitude!" Donald said, and Larxene looked it over before nodding.

Sora was having too much trouble. Tourou was a lot harder to fight than he originally thought. He was on the ground, exhausted from fighting. The lantern monster readied another attack that was certainly going to kill him this time. Sora was too weak to run, and braced himself as Tourou roared his attack… But no pain came to him.

"You know, this isn't a true lantern. You're made from electricity, which I find rather tasty"

Sora's eyes were wide as he saw a girl with blonde hair and a yellow mask in front of him, holding a keyblade. Larxene smirked, holding her keyblade out in front of her.

"I am the Mastress of Lightning, protected by the thunder bird! I am Summoner Quezacotl!" she said. "And with this extra charge you gave me, you're in real trouble!"

Tourou roared, before gathering energy for another beam attack. Larxene, however, was not going to give him any time to use it. Placing both hands on her keyblade, she lifted up to the air, where it sent a bolt of lightning into the clouds. In return, the clouds began to mysteriously thunder.

"LIGHTNING CHAIN!" she screamed as a long bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down on Tourou.

He roared loudly before falling to his knees. Larxene moved out of the way, reaching her hand out to the Keyblader. Sora looked at her, recognizing the similar outfit, and took her hand graciously. At the touch of her hand, Sora felt a burst of energy flow within him. He stood, looking at Tourou as it began to gather itself together.

"Now, Keyblader!" she shouted.

"Right" Sora nodded, before charging the monster and thrusting his keyblade into its chest, revealing a single floating heart as the monster itself faded away.

Larxene panted, before looking at her grandfather and friend Marluxia. She ran over to them, checking to see if they were alright. Her grandfather was just resting, but Marluxia was gravely hurt. Taking him into her arms hesitantly, she cradled his handsome face, not noticing Sora walking up behind her.

"Everyone should be waking up soon. Including him" he said, smiling at the scene that took place.

"… Friend, huh?" she asked, placing him gently on the ground.

Sora watched as she stood and turned to him. Though she was normally rough and mean on the outside, she hurt on the inside as well. But after realizing that her pain was consuming her heart, she looked much different in Sora's eyes now. As the Summoner Quezacotl, she stood proud, confident, and strong. She wasn't the sad and depressed little girl that he met her as. She was a warrior now.

"… As a friend, let me tell you…" she started, and Sora perked up. "… That you're a real whack job"

At this, Donald and Sora's faces fell, but almost a second later, they heard her laugh. Her hands placed at her hips, she watched as they looked at her questionably. She smiled at them, and somehow Sora knew that she was happy for once. They suddenly looked at her keyblade, which had suddenly changed its shape into that of a yellow blade with a black handle. Donald smiled.

"That's the Ominous Blight Keyblade… The pain in your heart is slowly ceasing, and you keyblade has changed to match your strength" Donald explained. Larxene stared at it, before holding it over her shoulder smugly.

"Huh… Well, we'd better get outta here. The people are beginning to wake up" Larxene said.

With this, Donald and Sora nodded, and they all jumped out of sight.

* * *

"Failed again, Irvine" Rikku teased. "Maleficent's gonna have your head!"

"Not this time, she won't. I managed to gather a decent sum of energy from that enormous crowd" Irvine said, holding a ball of light in his hands. Rikku watched it in awe.

"Wow, that's real little! You sure she'll forgive for this little energy?" she asked.

"She will… Mainly because this is the energy… of a Summoner" Irvine noted. Rikku gasped.

"It's really bright…!" she noted.

"Which means that things may get a little easier, now that I've obtained this information…"

* * *

"You sure you're alright, Zexion?" Sora asked as the boy stood from the ground.

"I'm fine" he answered, holding onto the lantern still. "It seems the effects of the lanterns has worn off"

"Huh, you've been out for a while" Larxene noted, and Zexion stared at her.

"Hello to you, too?" he asked with confusion, and Sora clapped his hands together.

"Larxene's a summoner, Zex! Summoner Quezacotl!" Sora cheered happily. Donald kicked him.

"Hey, don't be so noisy!" shouted Donald. Larxene laughed.

"So THIS is the crew I'm stuck with? This outta be fun" she said, holding her hands behind her head. Sora looked at the tiny key that she started wearing around her neck.

"Hey, Donald… What's with the key?" Sora asked, and the duck remembered something.

"Oh, Zexion, here you go!" Donald said, passing the lilac-haired boy a tiny blue keyblade. "That's the Diamond Dust keyblade! A weapon meant for the Summoner Shiva!"

"So... If this weapon was meant for me" started Larxene. "Why'd it change?"

"Like I said before, it changed because your heart was shrouded in darkness" Donald explained. "When your heart became pure with love and affection for your grandfather and Marluxia, so did the keyblade"

Larxene snorted.

"Love and affection?" she spat. "What are you talking about? He's just an idiot who works for my grandfather"

"You say so now, but you never know!" Sora teased, earning a punch to his shoulder.

"Shut it!" she shouted at him.

Donald and Zexion could only laugh, not noticing someone appearing behind them. Riku cleared his throat, alerting the two that he'd been behind them, and smiled as Sora took notice of him. The brunette ran into Riku's arms, shocking the white haired teen.

"You're okay!" Sora said happily. "I'm so glad!"

"Y-Yeah... Looks like Summoner Keyblader did it again! Can't believe I got knocked out..." Riku replied, ashamed.

"I'm just glad you're alright, Riku!" Sora said, holding onto him tightly.

Riku couldn't stop the blush that formed on his cheeks as Larxene and Zexion chuckled teasingly. Riku couldn't help himself, and wrapped his arms around the younger brunette, much to Sora's surprise. Though he was blushing red himself, Sora didn't want to leave this position. Just being right here with Riku made everything feel better in his opinion. The crowd suddenly began to grow loud, and Sora looked to see that everyone was getting their lanterns ready.

"It's almost midnight, you two. Get those lanterns ready" Larxene said, looking away from the mushy scene. She was, however, pushed by a random stranger in the crowd, and saw that she'd run into Marluxia.

"Oh, hey, Larxene. I'm glad you're okay" Marluxia said, and she gaped at him.

"ME? What about you! You idiot! Don't ever do that again!" she shrieked at him, and everyone looked at her questionably. She suddenly grew flustered, and crossed her arms.

Unfortunately, the touch of her hand had sparked Marluxia's lantern, and it began to float in between the two of them. Flustered, Marluxia quickly grabbed the paper lantern out of the air, hoping Larxene hadn't seen it. Though he was fast, Larxene had already seen it, and grabbed it from behind his back within seconds. Marluxia was slowly turning red the longer she looked at it.

"This looks like my kimono" she stated, wondering why Marluxia didn't have a lantern like everyone else's.

"OH!" Sora said, turning to Donald and whisper. "That's why Marluxia wasn't affected by the lanterns! He had made his own lantern instead of buying one!"

At this, Donald nodded, before turning back to watch as the two both turned red. Larxene hid her embarrassment a lot better than Marluxia, but that didn't stop her from realizing that it was still in her hands. Though she had her problems with males, she admitted that there were some people in the world worth cherishing. Her grandfather, Marluxia, and her new friends…

"Well… Are you gonna help me do this or what?" she snapped, and Marluxia looked at her strangely. "It… IS the Lantern Sky Festival after all…"

Marluxia couldn't contain his smile, as he took hold of the lantern as well. Only two minutes left before midnight, and Sora was happy to be able to witness such a happy event. Zexion smirked, however, and Sora couldn't understand why until…

"Hey, Sora…" Riku started, and Sora looked to see that the taller male had a lantern in his hands. "I know we just met the other day, but… I got no one else to share this with…"

Sora beamed, taking hold of the lantern in his hands. As everyone counted down, Sora looked into Riku's eyes and realized that he'd never seen anything more beautiful. Eventually, midnight struck, and everyone began to let go of their lanterns, letting them fly high into the night sky like fireflies. Zexion tapped Larxene and Sora's shoulders, holding a lantern in his hands.

"Shall the four of us do one together?" Zexion asked, and his two fellow Summoners smiled as Sora picked up Donald. The four of them placed their hands (or wings) on the lantern.

"Ready?" Zexion asked, and they all nodded, before letting the shining lantern fly into the sky, hoping the heavens above will accept their wish…

Their wish for a successful journey with each other, and to remain together as friends.

* * *

_This is Larxene. You know, for boys, Sora and Zexion aren't so bad to be around. Sora's an idiot at times, but then again, so is this new guy that seems to be flirting with EVERYONE, guys OR girls! Meanwhile the dark forces are plotting something directed straight towards us Summoners! Whatever's going on, it's really starting to burn me up!_

Next time on Summoner Keyblader- **Flames of Love! Summoner Ifrit is Here!**

* * *

Heartless so far:

Bushido- based off of Japanese Warrior  
Nomura- named after creator of Kingdom Hearts  
Tourou- Japanese word for 'lantern'

Also, stay tuned for the next chapter, as you'll also be getting a preview to a POSSIBLE Kingdom Hearts Story in the making inspired by Disney's PROM :)


End file.
